Taxpayer Alert: Palm Beach County taxpayers shell out $25,000/day for election recount

$25k a day does not keep the taxman away. Florida Citizens for a Sound Economy today issued a Taxpayer Alert to its more than 40,000 grassroots activists advising that the election vote recount is costing Palm Beach County taxpayers $25,000 a day.

According to the Palm Beach County Commissioners’ Office, taxpayers are paying the $25,000 tab to cover the vote counters’ food and salary, additional security around the vote tallying area, and local cable access to broadcast the count as it happens.

In the days since the Nov. 7 vote, Palm Beach County taxpayers have been assessed at least $250,000 for the ballot recounts.

“The taxpayers of Palm Beach have been put through enough these past few weeks. To now learn the huge costs associated with these long, drawn out recounts make this whole experience that much tougher to deal with,” said Florida CSE Director Slade O’Brien. “Americans deserve democracy, but an expensive, confusing battle will only result in a loss for hardworking taxpayers.”

Ballot recounts are being conducted in three Florida counties.