TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida’s election results are official: The Florida Elections Canvassing Commission certified the returns on Tuesday morning.
Much like the 2020 general election in Florida, the certification happened quickly and without issue. President Donald Trump’s 371,686 vote lead over former Vice President and Democratic contender Joe Biden means Florida’s returns were not under the scrutiny of states with much smaller margins.
During a meeting that lasted all of two minutes, the official certification of the 2020 voting returns took only 30 seconds.
Secretary of State Laurel Lee led the meeting with the commission joining by phone.
Florida law lays out who serves on the commission. It is Gov. Ron DeSantis and two members of the cabinet as appointed by the governor. For the 2020 general election, DeSantis appointed CFO Jimmy Patronis and Attorney General Ashley Moody.
The Elections Canvassing Commission does not county any ballots. They certify the results are true and accurate and sign the “Certificate of Ascertainment” which is then submitted to the National Archives as part of the official presidential records.
The certificate of ascertainment lists all of the 2020 candidates for president, the total number of votes each received and the presidential electors selected for each.
For 2020, these are Florida’s 29 presidential electors selected by the Republican Party of Florida and appointed by DeSantis in August. On Dec. 14th, they will meet in Tallahassee to cast their ballots for Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.
Other members of the electoral college meet in their home states to vote. Those electoral votes are counted by Congress on Jan. 6.
Although Trump won the state of Florida, Biden is projected to become the next president of the United States with 306 electoral votes total. It takes at least 270 electoral votes nationally to win.
- COVID-19 latest: Florida reports 41 more deaths, adds 4,663 cases
- SpaceX's Crew Dragon Resilience docks at the ISS
- Rapper Lil Wayne charged with federal gun offense in Florida
- Walmart announces free Thanksgiving dinner for everyone
- Gunman wanted after mother of 2 gets shot in St. Pete, police say
- Iota now a tropical storm, still bringing flash flooding, mudslide threat Tuesday
►Breaking news and weather alerts: Get the free 10 Tampa Bay app
►Stay In the Know! Sign up now for the Brightside Blend Newsletter