Rodriguez asks federal judge to bar Miami-Dade elections supervisor from District 27 recount decisions

Democrat Eliott Rodriguez has asked a federal judge to bar Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections Alina Garcia from deciding any part of the count in his U.S. House race against Republican Rep. María Elvira Salazar, including a recount. His complaint and an emergency motion for a preliminary injunction were entered Friday, Nov. 6, in federal court in Miami, court records show.¹²

The case, Rodriguez v. Garcia, No. 1:26-cv-27895, was first assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan A. Lenard. She signed an order Friday directing that it be reassigned, and the clerk moved it to Judge David S. Leibowitz. As of Saturday morning, the docket listed no hearing and no response from Garcia to the complaint, and it showed responses to the injunction motion due Nov. 20.¹

What the complaint asks

The 16-page complaint brings one claim under Section 1983 of the federal civil rights law: that Garcia's participation in deciding the District 27 count would violate the 14th Amendment's guarantee of due process. It names Garcia in her official capacity as supervisor and as a member of the county canvassing board, and it names Salazar only as an interested party.²

It asks the court to declare that Garcia's service as a voting or deciding board member in the contest violates due process. It also asks the court to block her, first by preliminary injunction and then permanently, from acting as a deciding member on recount matters, voter intent on ballots, overvotes and undervotes, and tabulation-equipment errors.²

What the complaint says

The complaint cites a Nov. 4 Miami Herald report that Garcia said on election night, "María Elvira is the winner, with or without a recount," and called a reversal "possible but not probable." It refers to a photo of Garcia with Salazar, cites her posts praising the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library and wishing President Donald Trump a happy birthday, and cites her public comments on Amendment 3. It also makes a separate conflict-of-interest allegation. The complaint says Garcia's participation as a voting member in the District 27 decisions "presents a serious, objective risk of bias."²

The complaint says Rodriguez's lawyers sent a demand that Garcia step aside to her office's general counsel on Nov. 5, and that Garcia said she would not recuse herself.²

Responses

Garcia's spokesman, Juan Mendieta, told WLRN on Friday, "She is not recusing herself. There is no conflict."³ Asked by CBS News Miami about the photo, Garcia said, "I take pictures with whoever asks me for a picture," and said it was taken on a May 2025 trip to Washington, the station reported.⁴

Two attorneys filed notices of appearance for Salazar on Friday. No response from Salazar to the complaint was on the docket, and neither news report reviewed included comment from her.¹⁴³

The count

The state's results page, showing the first set of unofficial returns and opened about 3:45 p.m. Saturday, lists Salazar with 124,528 votes, 50.22%, and Rodriguez with 123,438, 49.78%. The 1,090-vote gap is 0.44% of the race's total by SignalData's calculation, inside the one-half percent at which state law calls for a recount.⁵ CBS News Miami reported Friday night that the recount was scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 10.⁴

What the records do not show

• SignalData read the complaint from a copy linked by WLRN that bears the court's Nov. 6 docket stamp. Its 18 exhibits and the injunction motions were not available on CourtListener and were not read.
• The complaint's conflict-of-interest allegation concerns a private attorney. This story does not detail it. No court has ruled on it or on any other claim in the case, and SignalData makes no finding on them.
• No answer or motion from Garcia or Salazar was on the docket as of Saturday morning, and no hearing had been set.
• SignalData opened no Department of State recount order for District 27.