By Jeffrey Schweers at the Tallahassee Democrat:

Rather than hiring hundreds of people to perform the sometimes messy and always time-consuming job of recounting votes, several county supervisors of elections want to use their high-speed ballot auditing systems instead.

Legislation now has been filed to allow them to do just that. The measure’s co-sponsors this year are Sen. Bill Montford, D-Tallahassee (SB 1032) and Rep. Cord Byrd, R-Neptune Beach (HB 1005). It’s been endorsed by the Florida Supervisors of Elections Association.

“There are so many issues and challenges with a recount that it just makes sense,” Montford said.

Florida has become known for its too-close elections that trigger automatic recounts under state law. In 2018 alone, recounts were required in the races for governor, agriculture commissioner and U.S. Senate.