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| President Barack Obama holds up a pen as he speaks about the economy and the deficit, Friday, Nov. 9, 2012, in the East Room of the White House in Washington. |
ST. PETERSBURG,
Fla. (AP) -- President Barack Obama was declared the winner of
Florida's 29 electoral votes Saturday, ending a four-day count with a
razor-thin margin that narrowly avoided an automatic recount that would
have brought back memories of 2000.
No matter the outcome, Obama had already clinched re-election and now has 332 electoral votes to Romney's 206.
The
Florida Secretary of State's Office said that with almost 100 percent
of the vote counted, Obama led Republican challenger Mitt Romney 50
percent to 49.1 percent, a difference of about 74,000 votes. That was
over the half-percent margin where a computer recount would have been
automatically ordered unless Romney had waived it.
There
is a Nov. 16 deadline for overseas and military ballots, but under
Florida law, recounts are based on Saturday's results. Only a handful of
overseas and military ballots are believed to remain outstanding.
It's
normal for election supervisors in Florida and other states to spend
days after any election counting absentee, provisional, military and
overseas ballots. Usually, though, the election has already been called
on election night or soon after because the winner's margin is beyond
reach.
"Florida has spoken loudly in support
of moving our nation forward," Ashley Walker, the Obama campaign's
director for Florida, said in a news release. She added that the win was
a testament to the campaign's volunteers and staff.
When reached by phone Saturday, Mitt Romney's communications director Gail Gitcho said the campaign had no comment.
Obama's
win came in part from heavy support from black, Hispanic and younger
voters. Exit polls conducted for The Associated Press showed Obama was
favored by more than 9 of 10 black voters and 3 of 5 Hispanic voters in
Florida. The president also was the choice of two-thirds of voters under
age 30.
Republican challenger Mitt Romney led among both white and older voters.
In the end, the facts of who voted for which candidate in Florida faded into memory as voting issues emerged election night.
On
election night this year, it was difficult for officials - and the
media - to call the presidential race here, in part because the margin
was so close and the voting stretched into the evening.
In
Miami-Dade, for instance, so many people were in line at 7 p.m. in
certain precincts that some people didn't vote until after midnight.
The
hours-long wait at the polls in some areas, a lengthy ballot and the
fact that Gov. Rick Scott refused to extend early voting hours has led
some to criticize Florida's voting process. Some officials have vowed to
investigate why there were problems at the polls and how that led to a
lengthy vote count.
If there had been a
recount, it would not be as difficult as the lengthy one in 2000. The
state no longer uses punch-card ballots, which became known for their
hanging chads. All 67 counties now use optical scan ballots where voters
mark their selections manually.
Republican
George W. Bush won the 2000 contest after the Supreme Court declared him
the winner over Democrat Al Gore by a scant 537 votes.
The
win gave Obama victories in eight of the nine swing states, losing only
North Carolina. In addition to Florida, he won Ohio, Iowa, New
Hampshire, Wisconsin, Virginia, Colorado and Nevada.
