Staff Writer

Armando Ramirez refuses to concede to incumbent John Quiñones in the race for Osceola County Commission district 2.

With just 56 votes between them in the unofficial final results and more than 80 provisional ballots to be tallied at the Osceola County Supervisor of Elections Office, Ramirez was keeping a close watch on results.

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“I am very disappointed in what transpired last night,” Ramirez said during a Wednesday afternoon press conference at the Supervisor of Election Office in Kissimmee. “Right now, the incumbent cannot declare victory because we have to find out in the next 48 hours the results of provisional voters.”

A vote is deemed provisional if pertinent information about the voter is missing and needs to be researched and analyzed. For example, if a voter forgets his or her photo identification with a signature, he or she can vote, but the ballot is placed in a special purple envelope and must be verified by the Canvassing Board at the Elections Office.

The Canvassing Board for this election cycle is comprised of County Judge Hal Epperson Jr., County Commission Chairman Fred Hawkins Jr. and Supervisor of Elections Mary Jane Arrington.

As of 5 p.m. Thursday, 82 provisional ballots had been processed, according to Arrington. However, none of the votes had been tallied.

Results of the provisional ballots will be presented to the Canvassing Board at 1 p.m. Friday. The unofficial election results must be sent to the Florida Division of Elections by noon Saturday but the Elections Office is hoping to have them in by 5 p.m. Friday.

"I will trust the Canvassing Board will fulfill their duties and I shall await their results," Quiñones said in an e-mail.

According to the Elections Office, Ramirez requested a recount Wednesday; however, the outcome of Friday's meeting will determine if a recount will occur. Ramirez has contacted the U.S. Department of Justice and Latino Justice seeking help in his inquiry.

“I still have faith in Mary Jane Arrington that she will do the right thing and with faith there is hope that I could still be the winner,” Ramirez said.

As the race stands now, with Quiñones receiving 4,269 votes and Ramirez earning 4,213 votes, a difference of 0.66 percent, an automatic recount would not be required per state statute.

Florida law requires an automatic recount of races within a half of one percent difference. In this case, as long as Quiñones does not receive any additional votes, Ramirez would need just 14 more votes to fall within the automatic recount territory.

The estimated cost for a possible recount was not available but Amber Smith, public information officer for the Elections Office, said the funds would come out of the agency's operating budget.

Ramirez, who led the race the majority of Tuesday night, fell behind only after the absentee ballots were tallied at close to midnight.

Ramirez said he received a large amount of congratulatory calls throughout the night and into Wednesday morning.

“People were shocked that I was not the winner,” he said.

Ramirez said he knocked on every door in the communities of Buenaventura Lakes and Lakeside, two of several neighborhoods in district 2, to garner support. He said residents complained to him about high utility bills from Kissimmee Utility Authority and the Toho Water Authority.

Ramirez said he now hopes those relationships will help his cause as he plans to contact people whose ballots were labeled provisional to encourage them to submit any additional information the Elections Office may be seeking.

“I am an expert on knocking on doors,” Ramirez said. “I do intend to contact the people.”

District 2 has 12 precincts and 27,894 registered voters. Of those voters, 14,346 are registered Democrat; 5,691 are registered Republican; 6,814 are registered nonpartisan; and 1,043 are registered as other.

The last recount of a local candidate in Osceola County occurred in 2004 in the County Commission district 5 race between Bill Lane and Peter Olivio. Lane was determined the winner.