Gillum attorney: A lawsuit is on the table

Florida gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum’s attorney on Monday said the Tallahassee mayor is mulling a lawsuit as the battle over the Florida recount intensifies. 

Barry Richard, an attorney for Gillum’s campaign, said on MSNBC that Gillum is increasingly eyeing legal action, claiming Florida’s election laws disenfranchise voters.

{mosads}”I know in the case of Mayor Gillum, he has been reluctant to become involved in litigation, but we are receiving an increasing amount of evidence that Florida’s effort to make the statutes more efficient has been done at the sacrifice of the fundamental right to vote,” Richard told MSNBC’s Hallie Jackson on Monday. 

Florida is currently undergoing widely-watched recounts for its governor and senator races after the results came to extremely narrow margins. The Senate race has involved lawsuits filed by both candidates.

The recount process has been marred by bitter accusations and legal battles on both sides, prompting a Florida judge on Monday to urge Democrats and Republicans to “ramp down the rhetoric.” 

“[A lawsuit] has always been on the table,” Richard, who represented former President George W. Bush in the Florida litigation that determined the presidency in 2000, said on MSNBC. 

Richard said “obviously” it matters to Gillum whether a recount would result in his election, but added his “concern” is the possible disenfranchisement of Florida voters.

DeSantis is currently leading Gillum.

“I don’t think that he is being motivated right now by whether or not he will turn the election around,” Richard said. “Obviously, that’s important … But what he is talking to me about is … that he has an obligation to do anything he can to correct the situation which is disenfranchising voters.”