


Here's a guide to help navigate the terms that will be used as Florida enters a contentious and, at times, confusing recount of some of the races from Tuesday's midterm election.

ELECTION DAY COUNT: The number of ballots cast on Election Day.

EARLY IN-PERSON VOTING COUNT: The number of ballots cast during the early voting period before Election Day.

ABSENTEE BALLOT COUNT: The number of absentee ballots mailed in and received by a local election office by 7 p.m. on Election Day.


RECOUNT: Florida law provides for an automatic recount when a race is particularly close. When the margin between the candidates is equal to or less than .50 percent, the laws provides for an automatic machine recount of the ballots, where county election officials run all the ballots through voting machines again. If the margin in races falls below .25 percent, the law provides for an automatic manual count of ballots where undervotes or overvotes are identified.

UNDERVOTE: Not every voter marks a selection in every race on their ballot. So when one race is skipped or no mark is recorded when the ballot goes through the machine, that's an undervote. But sometimes the machine doesn't properly read the voter's selection because it may not have been clear. The result, as was seen in Florida's Senate race, is that fewer votes are cast in a race than others in the same election. If a review of the ballot identifies a mark the voter made as a selection and the voter's intent can be determined, then it's counted. Democrats now are concerned that a large undervote in the Senate race is the result of machine errors.



CANVASSING BOARD: Each of Florida's 67 counties has a canvassing board made up of the supervisor of elections, a county court judge and county commission chair. Each board examines provisional ballots, including outstanding absentee ballots, to determine if they should be counted.

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS: Each county election office submits counts to the Florida Secretary of State's office from an election showing the number of ballots cast in each race. These results are considered unofficial and continue through the recount process, which means there can be more than one unofficial result reported after each step in the machine and by-hand recounts.

The latest: Votes still being counted in race for governor, senate and ag commissioner

State-wide results: View the latest Florida election results

The current tally according to Associated Press

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