Workers monitor the Republican Party table at the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Warehouse on November 15, 2018 in West Palm Beach, Florida (Michele Eve Sandberg)

Miami (AFP) – Florida election officials were conducting a hand recount of ballots Friday in a closely-watched US Senate race that is tilting in the Republican candidate’s favor 10 days after the midterm elections.

Several dozen volunteers lined up at dawn and then filed into a brightly lit Broward County warehouse where they manually scrutinized ballots, following the conclusion of a machine recount beset with problems including equipment malfunctions and missed deadlines in the southeastern battleground state.

Similar scenes were playing out across the state’s 67 counties as authorities raced to finish the recount before a Sunday deadline.

Results from the November 6 election were too close to call, and a machine recount was conducted in the race between Democratic Senator Bill Nelson and his Republican challenger Rick Scott, who is Florida’s outgoing governor.

Unofficial results showed Nelson trailing Scott by about 12,600 votes out of more than 8.2 million cast, or 0.15 percentage points.

That narrow margin triggered a hand recount of problematic ballots, such as those where a voter filled in bubbles next to the names of Nelson and Scott.

Amid a flurry of partisan lawsuits, there was little sign Friday that Nelson might be able to make up enough ground, and Scott has called on him to concede.

The governor’s race, between Republican Ron DeSantis and Democrat Andrew Gillum, who is seeking to become the state’s first-ever black chief executive, was also subject to a machine recount. 

But following that process, DeSantis was ahead by 0.41 percentage points, too large a margin for a manual recount, and the Republican is expected to be declared the winner of that race. Gillum has not conceded.

Florida’s results are scheduled to be certified Tuesday.

Trump has repeatedly charged that Florida’s elections were marred by vote fraud, but state and local authorities have said there is no evidence of wrongdoing.

A governor’s race in the neighboring state of Georgia also remained undecided.

Stacey Abrams is aiming to become the country’s first ever black female governor, but she trails Republican Brian Kemp, Georgia’s secretary of state, by 55,000 votes, a margin of more than one percentage point.

Abrams is considering long-shot legal action to address claims of voter suppression. Barring such a move, state officials could certify the election as soon as 5:00 pm (2200 GMT) Friday, The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported.

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