María Elvira Salazar's reelection hangs in the balance: margin is within recount threshold, still more than 200 ballots left to be counted

The victory of Cuban-American Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar celebrated on election night is not yet final — at least for now.

The margin between the Republican congresswoman and Democrat Eliott Rodríguez in Florida's 27th district is so narrow that the race could result in an automatic recount. According to Miami-Dade Elections Supervisor Alina García, Salazar's lead is 0.46 percentage points, or about 1,100 votes, which is below the threshold of 0.50 percentage points set by Florida law to trigger an automatic machine recount. If the margin narrows to 0.25 percentage points or less, the recount would switch to a manual count, and that remains to be seen.

According to García, the final decision depends on a final group of votes. The supervisor reported that 202 mail-in ballots are still in the process of having their signatures verified, and voters have until 5 p.m. on Thursday to resolve any discrepancies. Provisional ballots cast during early voting and on Election Day are also being reviewed.

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"The numbers may change, because if an affidavit is received to correct a ballot, the numbers change slightly," she explained.

The county Board of Canvassers will meet on Friday to review those ballots. If the margin remains within the threshold, the Florida Secretary of State must order a recount, which would not begin before Saturday.

The race was one of the most closely watched and closest races in South Florida. Salazar, who has represented the district since 2021, faced off against Rodríguez, a veteran journalist who spent 25 years as an anchor for CBS News Miami before entering politics this year. The campaign centered on immigration and the cost of living, and Salazar even went so far as to publicly challenge the Trump administration over some of its immigration operations, although she ultimately had the Republican president's backing.

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She took the same line in her election-night speech, when she declared victory and called on her party to change course on economic and immigration issues to win back Hispanic voters. In a district where the Republican lead in the 2024 presidential election exceeded 14 points, the outcome will now be decided by just a few hundred votes.