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\f0\b\fs24 \cf2 BY CHRISTINA HARTMAN \b0 \
\pard\pardeftab720\sa240
\i \cf2 with contributions from Harumendhah Helmy
With its 29 electoral college votes, Florida was thought to play a big role in the winner\'92s
total. But two days after the election\'92s results, we STILL don\'92t know which candidate
the Sunshine State picked.\ \uc0\u8232
\b \'93The state is the only one not to declare a winner. Poll workers are sorting through
ballots after a surge of absentee votes. (FLASH) Officials blame the delays on a ballot cluttered
with referendums.\'94 \b0 \uc0\u8232 \
Not that Florida\'92s actual tally matters for the result \'97 President Obama far surpassed
the 270 electoral votes he needed to win.\uc0\u8232 \u8232
\b OBAMA: \'93We have fought our way back and we know in our hearts that for the United
States of America, the best is yet to come.\'94 \b0 \uc0\u8232 \u8232 As of Thursday afternoon,
Florida was leaning Obama, but by a small margin. (From: {\field{\*\fldinst{HYPERLINK
"http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/07/who-won-florida_n_2089411.html"}}{\fldrslt \cf3 \ul \ulc3 The Huffington Post}})\uc0\u8232
\ In the days leading up to the election, polls
show Romney\'92s chances in the state looked promising. (From: {\field{\*\fldinst{HYPERLINK
"http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2012/president/fl/florida_romney_vs_obama-1883.html"}}{\fldrslt \cf3 \ul \ulc3 Real Clear Politics}})\uc0\u8232
\ But by Thursday after the election, Romney\'92s
campaign has officially conceded Florida. {\field{\*\fldinst{HYPERLINK "http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/11/08/3087995/romney-campaign-we-lost-florida.html"}}{\fldrslt
\cf3 \ul \ulc3 In a statement to the Miami Herald}}, a Romney advisor said the campaign
thought the state was winnable:\uc0\u8232 \
\b \'93We thought ... we had done what we needed to win. Obviously, we didn\'92t, and
for that I and every other operative in Florida has a sick feeling that we left something
on the table.\'94 \b0 \uc0\u8232 \
\pard\pardeftab720\sa240 {\field{\*\fldinst{HYPERLINK "http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/11/08/florida-still-in-question-as-officials-count-absentee-provisional-ballots/"}}{\fldrslt
\cf3 \ul \ulc3 According to CNN}}, election officials in Florida worked overnight to count
ballots, and Miami-Dade County plans to start counting the almost 3,000 provisional ballots
Thursday afternoon.\uc0\u8232 \u8232 \b \'93Provisional ballots, they're going
to be done tomorrow. There's still three other counties that are still counting the absentee
and provisional votes.\'94 \b0 \uc0\u8232 \
While votes are still being counted, Romney is unlikely to catch up because there aren\'92t
enough votes in Republican areas to make up the difference.\uc0\u8232 \u8232 MIami-Dade\'92s
election supervisor told CNN she\'92s \'93embarrassed\'94 at the situation there. She blames high turnout
and unusually long ballots in part for the slow process.\
}