Rep. Allen West, R-Palm Beach Gardens, and Democrat Patrick Murphy didn’t agree on much during a bitter and costly U.S. House race that Murphy narrowly won in November.

But West and Murphy have found some common ground in criticizing the “fiscal cliff” deal approved by Congress Tuesday.

West voted against the deal Tuesday night, citing concerns about its tax hikes and failure to rein in spending. Murphy, who will be sworn in Thursday, released a statement late Tuesday saying he’s pleased middle-class tax cuts will be preserved but “extremely disappointed” in the overall package.

The deal prevents an income tax increase for individuals earning less than $400,000 and couples making less than $450,000. But it does little to address long-term deficit and debt issues, merely delaying by two months the imposition of automatic spending cuts that would total $1.2 trillion over 10 years.

That means Murphy and other members of the 113th Congress will have to deal with more fiscal drama as the automatic spending cuts approach and President Barack Obama is expected to ask for an increase in the debt ceiling.

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U.S. Rep. Allen West, R-Palm Beach Gardens, says he won’t support a “fiscal cliff” bill passed by the Senate early this morning.

“No one’s taxes need increase and this Senate legislation does not promote economic growth, debt/deficit reduction, or spending discipline, which should be our main goals,” West said in a statement that was posted on Facebook.

West, a freshman tea party favorite who lost his reelection bid to Democrat Patrick Murphy in November, hasn’t revealed his future political plans. But his statement today suggests he sees some role for himself in the future.

“The day is coming when principled pragmatic Constitutional Conservatives will be sought after to restore the American Republic, and we will answer the call,” West said.

U.S. Rep. Allen West, R-Palm Beach Gardens, offered parting remarks on his congressional Facebook page this afternoon, though he’ll continue to post on a campaign Facebook page.

Tea party freshman firebrand West represents Palm Beach-Broward congressional District 22, but after redistricting he ran for a second term in Palm Beach-Treasure Coast District 18. He narrowly lost in November to Democrat Patrick Murphy in America’s most expensive U.S. House race. Murphy will be sworn in Thursday.

Said West:

“It has been an honor to serve the Constituents of Florida’s 22nd Congressional District. I am deeply thankful to have been given this opportunity. It has been particularly rewarding to have met so many of you personally, and I am humbled that our office was able to make a difference in the lives of thousands of individuals by assisting with their Veterans, Social Security, Medicare and immigration needs.

“I have spent my adult life serving this great nation, and I will continue. Tomorrow, this Facebook page will be taken down until the next chapter is revealed. Stay tuned.

“In the meantime, you may follow me at http://www.facebook.com/ElectAllenWest”

Defeated freshman U.S. Rep. Allen West, R-Palm Beach Gardens, discussed his two years in Washington in an exit interview to National Public Radio’s Michel Martin.

“And always remember, Abraham Lincoln only served one term in Congress, too,” West said toward the end of the interview. Lincoln, elected as a Whig from Illinois in 1846, pledged to serve only one term and didn’t seek reelection in 1848.

Read the transcript of the NPR interview here.

Fresh off his certification for the District 18 congressional seat, Patrick Murphy appeared on MSNBC’s The Ed Show this evening — but not before host Ed Schultz gave a send-off to Allen West, congratulating West for conceding “after two weeks of kicking and screaming.”

Schultz told Murphy “you are exactly what the Republicans love to put up in front of a crowd. You’re a successful businessman, you understand small business. I’ve done some research on your background.”

Schultz then asked Murphy if he won because of West’s rhetoric.

“It started off with his rhetoric,” Murphy said. “That offended a lot of Republicans. We’d get phone calls from Republicans every day saying ‘Patrick, look, we’re tired of the Tea Party, we’re tired of Allen West. We want somebody with your background as a CPA, as a small business owner, representing us. Part of my campaign was about showing the difference between Allen West and myself but also talking about what I want to do moving forward and my background and why I thought I was the better candidate moving this country forward.”

Schultz said that while Obama wants to raise taxes on those making more than $250,000 a year, Murphy has said he favors a tax hike only for those making $1 million or more. Schultz asked Murphy if he would agree to a tax hike on those making $250,000 and higher if Obama asked for his vote.

“Being a CPA I’ve studied the tax code and unfortunately it’s riddled with loopholes and deductions,” Murphy said. “If we’re going to be serious about making sure we don’t fall off this fiscal cliff so that we do have economic stability going forward, we’re going to have to really look at our tax code from scratch. I said the $1 million because I believe there are so many businesses out there that want to keep that money invested in their companies so that’s why I have the line at $1 million. If we’re going to be serious the first thing I said is that I want to sit down with the Republicans and find compromise to ensure we move this country forward.

“Of course I don’t want to raise taxes on the middle class. But I am fiscally more conservative than the president so that’s where I stand. I’m not saying I wouldn’t compromise because there’s a bigger picture at hand here. That’s where I drew the line but we’ve got to do what’s best for all Americans.”

Two weeks after the Nov. 6 election, Florida’s 2012 results are now official.

Gov. Rick Scott, Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam and Attorney General Pam Bondi this morning certified with special attention to St. Lucie County’s prolonged recount the nationally-watched U.S. House District 18 contest between tea party icon U.S. Rep. Allen West and newly-elected U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy.

After lawsuits and recounts, West conceded this morning.

Scott and the two Cabinet members, acting as the state Election Canvassing Commission, were about to certify the results of the presidential, statewide and multi-county races as well as a few special elections, Secretary of State Ken Detzner told them.

“However, I bring to your attention that the St. Lucie County official returns were not received by the statutory deadline of noon, Nov. 18,” Detzner said. Florida law mandates that if a county’s returns are not received by the Department of State by the deadline, “the date filed returns shall be ignored and the results on file at that shall be certified by the department,” Detzner said.

“Therefore, the results before you reflect the unofficial returns filed from St. Lucie County at noon, Nov. 18,” he went on.

But a final recount, which ended in St. Lucie County on Sunday, did not change the results or give West enough of an edge to trigger an automatic recount, Detzner noted.

Murphy has led by less than 1 percent since election night. Final results Sunday from Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie counties gave the Democrat a lead over West of 1,904 votes or 0.58 percent.

“If St. Lucie County had timely submitted its retabulated returns, those returns would not have affected the ultimate outcome of any race and would not have placed any race within the margin of a recount,” he said.

Gov. Rick Scott, whose tea party support helped boost him to victory two years ago, said he was confident that Murphy is the winner.

“That’s what all the numbers show,” Scott said. Having to certify the unofficial results is disappointing, Scott said, “but it didn’t impact the election.”

UPDATED with response from Murphy

Republican U.S. Rep. Allen West announced this morning that he won’t challenge Democrat Patrick Murphy’s narrow victory in their nationally watched battle for the Palm Beach-Treasure Coast congressional District 18 seat.

“While many questions remain unanswered, today I am announcing that I will take no further action to contest the outcome of this election,” West said in a statement released early this morning to The Palm Beach Post.

West later made his concession Fox-official by appearing briefly on Fox & Friends at about 6:15 a.m.

Murphy has led by less than 1 percent since election night. Final results Sunday from Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie counties gave the Democrat a lead over West of 1,904 votes or 0.58 percent.

Until now, West has refused to concede, citing admitted errors by St. Lucie County in its initial tallying of more than 37,000 ballots from early voting. West finally succeeded in getting the county to conduct a full retabulation of its early ballots, but the recount failed to reduce Murphy’s margin to the 0.5 percent or closer that would push the race into a full recount of the entire district.

“While there are certainly still inaccuracies in the results and the actions of the St. Lucie County and Palm Beach County Supervisors of Elections rightly raise questions in my mind and for many voters, after much analysis and (Sunday’s) recount in St. Lucie County, our legal team does not believe there are enough over-counted, under-counted or fraudulent votes to change the outcome of the election,” West’s statement said.

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Republican U.S. Rep. Allen West has neither conceded nor committed to future challenges after final results from St. Lucie, Martin and Palm Beach counties on Sunday showed Democrat Patrick Murphy winning the congressional District 18 race by 1,904 votes or 0.58 percent.

Murphy’s margin is just beyond the state’s 0.5 percent threshold for an automatic recount. And Murphy’s lead would be 242 votes larger if problem-plagued St. Lucie County hadn’t missed Sunday’s noon deadline for submitting final results after a recount of more than 37,000 ballots from early voting.

The state’s Elections Canvassing Commission will meet Tuesday morning in Tallahassee to give final certification to all elections results from across the state. Once the results are certified, West would have 10 days to contest the election — a decidedly uphill proposition.

“We will be discussing how we will move forward at some point tomorrow,” West campaign spokeswoman Michele Hickford said today.

West and his campaign publicly toned down talk of contesting the race as Sunday wore on.

Soon after St. Lucie County blew the noon deadline, West campaign manager Tim Edson declared: “This election is far from over. We will continue to fight on behalf of all voters in District 18 to ensure a fair and accurate count of their votes.”

But later in the afternoon, West issued a statement that left his options open but wasn’t as combative as Edson’s.

“We will review the results of today’s recount and the other available data to determine how to proceed. I have been humbled by the support we have received and the hard work of so many to ensure the integrity of this process,” West said.

A few hours later, West put a statement on Facebook that neither conceded nor mentioned the possibility of fighting on.

“From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank everyone for their support during this effort to ensure the integrity of our electoral process. It is truly humbling. I cannot state enough how proud I am to stand with each and every one of you, patriots all. You are the bedrock of our constitutional republic,” West wrote.

The West campaign remains interested in a report by three Florida Division of Elections auditors who were sent from Tallahassee last week by Secretary of State Ken Detzner to monitor the St. Lucie County elections office.

That report “will likely not be completed until after Thanksgiving,” Detzner spokesman Chris Cate said.

FORT PIERCE — A judge today denied U.S. Rep. Allen West‘s request that he order a recount of 37,379 ballots from early voting in St. Lucie County — effectively leaving the decision up to the county’s canvassing board, which meets today at 4 p.m.

Circuit Judge Dan Vaughn said he did not have the authority to issue an injunction ordering the recount, which West wanted after problems emerged in the counting of early votes on election night.

Unofficial returns show Democrat Patrick Murphy leading the race by 1,907 votes or 0.58 percent in District 18, which includes St. Lucie, Martin and northern Palm Beach counties.

West has not conceded.

In denying West’s motion, Vaughn noted the canvassing board is considering the issue at a meeting this afternoon. The judge also said that West has other legal remedies — specifically mentioning a statute that allows a candidate to contest an election within 10 days of the final certification of results. That certification is scheduled for Tuesday.

After West filed his motion for an injunction on Tuesday in St. Lucie County circuit court, the canvassing board on Thursday scheduled a meeting for this afternoon to consider a full recount of early votes.

Murphy attorney Gerald Richman said in court today that there is no basis for a full recount of early votes and if the canvassing board orders a full recount of them, the Murphy campaign will go to court to try to block it.

“If the canvassing board were to decide that they want to do that without any evidentiary basis to do so, we’ll be back before your honor with a motion for injunctive relief against them doing it because under the law the statute that we cited for your honor they have absolutely no right to do it,” Richman said.

“Now we’re getting both sides threatening us,” said St. Lucie County Attorney Dan McIntyre, representing the canvassing board.

The canvassing board originally planned a full recount of early votes after some were double-counted and others were ignored on election night. But after announcing the full recount late Saturday, the board reversed course Sunday morning and decided to only recount 16,275 ballots from three of the eight days of early voting.

That recount resulted in 799 early votes vanishing from the West-Murphy race. West argued the irregularities that came to light in the partial recount merited a full recount.

West’s attorneys also amended their complaint this morning to ask for a recount of approximately 37,000 absentee ballots from St. Lucie County, but Vaughn did not rule on that petition.

In an amended complaint filed this morning, the West campaign says its review of absentee ballot records shows “significant problems” with those ballots as well the early votes. The West camp says that in some precincts, the number of absentee votes recorded exceeds the number of voters who are listed as casting absentee ballots.

Under Florida law, a candidate must be within 0.5 percent to merit a recount. Murphy’s margin is larger. The West campaign technically wanted the judge — and now the canvassing board — to order a “retabulation” under Florida statutes, which allow a county to conduct such an exercise if it finds errors in its initial tabulation of votes.

If there is a retabulation, West would need to gain a few hundred votes to get within 0.5 percent and trigger a full recount from all three counties.

FORT PIERCE — Republican U.S. Rep. Allen West‘s attorneys this morning amended their request for a recount of more than 37,000 ballots cast during early voting in St. Lucie County to also include a request to recount about 37,000 absentee ballots from the county.

A hearing is set for 1 p.m. before St. Lucie County Circuit Judge Dan Vaughn.

Unofficial returns show Democrat Patrick Murphy leading West by 1,907 votes or 0.58 percent. West has not conceded, citing admitted errors by the St. Lucie County elections office in tallying early votes on election night. Elections Supervisor Gertrude Walker says those problems, which included double-counting some ballots and failing to count others, were rectified in a partial recount Sunday and no further recounts are needed.

In an amended complaint filed this morning, the West campaign says its review of absentee ballot records shows “significant problems” with those ballots as well the early votes. The West camp says that in some precincts, the number of absentee votes recorded exceeds the number of voters who are listed as casting absentee ballots.

Placard-carrying West supporters are marching and chanting outside the courthouse in anticipation of the two-hour hearing.

Under Florida law, a candidate must be within 0.5 percent to merit a recount. Murphy’s margin is larger. The West campaign technically is asking for a “retabulation” under Florida statutes, which allow a county to conduct such an exercise if it finds errors in its initial tabulation of votes.

Attorneys for Republican U.S. Rep. Allen West‘s campaign today will ask a judge for a recount of all 37,379 ballots cast during early voting in St. Lucie County in West’s tight re-election race against apparent Democratic victor Patrick Murphy.

Arguments before St. Lucie County Circuit Judge Dan Vaughn begin at 1 p.m. in Fort Pierce. Follow postonpolitics.com, palmbeachpost.com and twitter.com/gbennettpost for updates.

While waging its court fight, the West legal team also sent a letter late Thursday to Secretary of State Ken Detzner outlining what it says are other inconsistencies in St. Lucie County’s vote totals and arguing that “serious doubt exists as to the accuracy of the vote count so far reported by St. Lucie County.”

Detzner has sent three representatives to Fort Pierce to monitor the St. Lucie County elections office and make recommendations.

Unofficial returns show Murphy edging West by 1,907 votes or 0.58 percent in congressional District 18, which includes St. Lucie, Martin and northern Palm Beach counties.

West has not conceded, citing problems with the early vote tally in St. Lucie County, where Elections Supervisor Gertrude Walker has acknowledged her office double-counted some ballots and ignored others on election night.

Walker says the problem was limited to ballots cast on the last three days of early voting. She says a partial recount of those ballots Sunday — in which 799 votes disappeared from the West-Murphy race and 448 new votes were discovered in the Fort Pierce mayor’s race — fixed the problems and no additional recounts are needed.

The West campaign says the irregularities that came to light in the partial recount of early votes justify a full recount of all the early ballots. West’s motion asks Vaughn to order a full recount and bar the county from certifying its results until such a recount is complete.

Counties must file certified results with the state by noon Sunday. The state’s Elections Canvassing Commission gives final certification to all results Tuesday.

FORT PIERCE – A St. Lucie County circuit judge has scheduled a two-hour hearing for Friday on Republican U.S. Rep. Allen West’s request for a recount of all 37,379 ballots cast during early voting in St. Lucie County in his tight reelection fight against Democrat Patrick Murphy.

Murphy holds a 0.58 percent lead over West in unofficial returns from congressional District 18, which includes St. Lucie and Martin counties and northern Palm Beach County.

West has not conceded, citing errors in St. Lucie County’s initial early vote tally that prompted Secretary of State Ken Detzner to send three officials to Fort Pierce today to observe and report on the St. Lucie County elections office.

St. Lucie County Elections Supervisor Gertrude Walker said her office double-counted some early ballots and failed to count others on election night. But Walker said the problem was limited to ballots from three of the eight days of early voting and was fixed Sunday during a recount of those votes.

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Republican Rep. Allen West‘s campaign says it filed a request for an injunction late today ordering St. Lucie County Supervisor of Elections Gertrude Walker to conduct a recount of all 37,397 ballots from early voting rather than the 16,275 ballots the county canvassing board decided to recount Sunday.

A copy of the filing wasn’t immediately available.

A partial recount of early votes on Sunday showed Democratic challenger Patrick Murphy losing 667 votes and West losing 132 — a net gain of 535 votes for West that reduced Murphy’s small lead in the congressional District 18 race.

“It stands to reason that if the remaining early votes were to be recounted, additional errors would be uncovered and the tabulation of votes revised accordingly,” a statement from West’s campaign said. “Until these remaining early ballots are recounted, however, the Canvassing Board has arbitrarily applied differing counting standards to similarly situated ballots. The erroneous decision of St. Lucie County to ‘re-feed’ only some of the early votes cast in this election violates the Florida Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection to voters.”

Earlier in the day, Secretary of State Ken Detzner ordered three representatives to St. Lucie County to observe and report on the elections process there. St. Lucie, Martin and northern Palm Beach counties make up District 18.

The Florida Division of Elections is sending three employees to St. Lucie County on Wednesday to try to figure out how 799 votes disappeared in Sunday’s partial recount of the close, nationally watched congressional race between U.S. Rep. Allen West and Democrat Patrick Murphy.

“We are concerned whenever there is a question about the accuracy of results,” Florida Department of State spokesman Chris Cate said in an e-mail this afternoon. “We are sending three employees, including the bureau chief, from the Bureau of Voting Systems Certifications, to assess the tabulation process in St. Lucie County.”

St. Lucie, Martin and northern Palm Beach counties make up congressional District 18, where unofficial returns since election night have shown Murphy leading West by less than 1 percent. But St. Lucie County Elections Supervisor Gertrude Walker acknowledged that her office had problems uploading some electronic memory cartridges from early voting on election night.

West has not conceded, saying he wants a full recount of all ballots from early voting.

Murphy, who’s in Washington today for freshman orientation, said Monday he was “comfortable” with St. Lucie County’s tabulating.

Cate said the Division of Elections spoke to Walker on Saturday about the issue and was under the impression the county’s canvassing board would recount all 37,379 ballots cast during all eight days of early voting — not the three days the canvassing board decided to recount on Sunday.

The canvassing board’s attorney said Sunday that only 16,275 ballots from three days needed to be recounted because the cartridge problem was limited to those days.

The partial recount shaved 667 votes from Murphy’s total and 132 from West’s — a net gain of 535 votes for West that reduced Murphy’s unofficial margin of victory to 1,907 votes or 0.58 percent district-wide. That’s still a bigger lead than the 0.5 percent threshold for a recount under state law.

While the West-Murphy race doesn’t meet the statutory standard for a recount, Cate said counties have the discretion to re-run ballots if they suspect a tabulation error in initial results. That was the case in St. Lucie County.

“If a county canvassing board determines that its unofficial returns contain a counting error in which the vote tabulation system didn’t count properly marked votes, the county canvassing board may correct the error and retabulate the affected ballots. This decision is made by the county canvassing board, not the Department of State,” Cate said.

Technically, Cate said, what St. Lucie County conducted on Sunday was not a recount but a “retabulation” under state law.

Former Florida Secretary of State Kurt Browning, a three-decade veteran of Florida elections, says he understands why Republican U.S. Rep. Allen West would be “a little steamed” by Sunday’s disputed partial recount of early votes in St. Lucie County.

A recount wasn’t required by state law because Democrat Patrick Murphy’s margin was larger than 0.5 percent. But St. Lucie County elections officials acknowledged problems with the way electronic memory cartridges of early votes were uploaded on election night and scheduled an emergency canvassing board meeting Sunday to recount all 37,379 early votes for all the races on the ballot.

On Sunday, however, the county said the cartridge problem was limited to the last three days of early voting, so only 16,275 ballots cast on those days would be recounted. The recount revealed a 799-vote error in the West-Murphy race that resulted in a 535-vote net gain for West and reduced Murphy’s margin to 0.58 percent.

“Why did they do a recount when it was outside the one half of one percent? If in fact they did order a recount, why did they order a partial recount?” said Browning, who emphasized he has no first-hand knowledge of the situation but says he’s been puzzled by what he’s read about it.

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FORT PIERCE — A partial recount of early ballots from St. Lucie County further narrowed Democrat Patrick Murphy’s thin margin of victory over Republican U.S. Rep. Allen West, prompting the West campaign to call for a recount of all the early-vote ballots.

Murphy’s total dropped by 667 votes and West lost 132 votes in the recount of 16,275 ballots from the last three days of early voting in St. Lucie County. West’s net gain of 535 votes still leaves him about 0.58 percent behind Murphy in congressional District 18, which also includes Martin County and part of Palm Beach County.

A margin of 0.5 percent or closer is needed to trigger a recount under state law.

West’s campaign manager, Tim Edson, called the recount a “sham” because St. Lucie County’s canvassing board originally announced it would recount all 37,379 early votes cast in the county. He said the West campaign will pursue “every legal action available to make sure every vote is counted fairly and accurately in this election.”

Murphy attorney Sean Dominick said there is no reason for additional recounts.

“They’re sill outside the margin for a recount and there is absolutely no reason to think that any of the other days would change the outcome at all,” Dominick said.

“They (the West campaign) got what they wanted. They lost. It’s time to step aside and let Patrick Murphy do the business of the people of the 18th congressional district and he looks forward to representing them in Congress.”

The early vote totals came into question on election night when some electronic memory cards containing early ballots could not initially be read by tabulating machines. The ballots were scanned later in the evening and changed what had been a small West lead into a small Murphy advantage.

Elections officials said the problem was confined to ballots from the last three days of early voting. But the West campaign said it was told Thursday that the problem was with the first three days.

“The real issue now is trying to determine if the batch that they recounted was in fact the correct batch of affected votes. They say they know they counted the right batch of early votes. But the public has no way of knowing that,” said Jeffrey Scott Shapiro, a volunteer attorney for the West campaign.

“I think it would have been a lot simpler if they had just done what they said they were going to do on their Internet site and recount all the early votes. There was no reason not to do that,” Shapiro said.

A notice on the St. Lucie County elections website on Saturday advertised an emergency meeting of the canvassing board this morning “to recount all ballots cast during early voting.”

But Assistant County Attorney Heather Young began the proceedings by announcing only the last three days of early voting would be recounted because those were the only days for which there was a problem reading memory cards. And while the meeting was advertised as a “recount,” Young later said it was more properly a “re-feed” of ballots.

FORT PIERCE — A recount of early votes from St. Lucie County began this morning with lawyers for apparent Democratic congressional victor Patrick Murphy and Republican U.S. Rep. Allen West raising early qualms.

St. Lucie County’s elections office announced Saturday that, because of concerns about the way tabulating equipment uploaded early vote totals on election night, it would conduct a meeting this morning “to recount all ballots cast during early voting.” That would be 37,379 ballots.

But Assistant County Attorney Heather Young began proceedings today by announcing the recount would only cover the final three days of early voting — Nov. 1-3 — because she said those were the only days tabulating equipment had a problem reading memory cards. A total of 16,275 ballots were cast on those three days.

West’s campaign said it was told last week that the problem occurred with the first three days of early voting — Oct. 27-29 — and therefore the recount of the final three days doesn’t address its concerns. West campaign manager Tim Edson said he’d prefer a recount of all eight days of early voting.

“What’s going on today is a sham,” Edson said. “It does nothing to at all to address the concerns we had after being told yesterday they would be recounting all early votes.”

An attorney for Murphy, Sean Dominick, told Young early today that there is no legal basis to recount early votes (state law calls for a recount only in races decided by 0.5 percent or less; Murphy was declared victor by 0.72 percent) and only ballots that were not counted before the election should be counted today.

“To the extent that there are votes that are uncounted, we are all in favor of any vote being counted,” Dominick said to Young.

Young answered that “the only way to do that is to feed all of them because we can’t identify which votes may or may not have been counted.”

Young said she was acting on a recommendation from the Florida Division of Elections.

Young later said that today’s exercise, though described as a “recount” in the public notice from the Supervisor of Elections office, is actually a “re-feed” of ballots. And while national interest is focused on the West-Murphy congressional race, Young said the “re-feed” covers all the races on the St. Lucie County ballot.

Follow updates on the recount at twitter.com/gbennettpost

Returns submitted to the state Division of Elections today show Democrat Patrick Murphy edging Republican U.S. Rep. Allen West by 2,442 votes or 0.74 percent — a big enough margin to avoid an automatic recount under state law.

But the counting isn’t completely finished.

St. Lucie County’s elections canvassing board has scheduled an emergency meeting for 7 a.m. Sunday to recount all the early votes cast in the county. Elections Supervisor Gertrude Walker on Wednesday estimated there were about 37,000 early votes.

West has not conceded and has raised questions about the early vote tally after some electronic memory cards storing early ballots could not initially be counted Tuesday night. The ballots were counted later in the evening and turned a narrow West lead into a small Murphy advantage.

West’s campaign, which has been sharply critical of Walker’s office, said tonight that the Sunday recount “should help shed light on the situation of this election. This is the action we were seeking to ensure the results of this election were fair and accurate.”

The West campaign also wants to review voter sign-in sheets from the election and compare them to the number of ballots cast.

“While we still look forward to reviewing the poll books used to check in voters during early voting and Election Day, this recount goes a long way to ensuring an accurate outcome,” according to the statement from the West campaign.

With U.S. Rep. Allen West, R-Palm Beach Gardens, going to court to seek a recount in hopes of overturning Democrat Patrick Murphy ‘s apparent narrow victory, Murphy is sending a fundraising appeal to donors.

Says a Murphy e-mail: “When other campaigns have been faced with similiar situations, they have been burdened with legal bills and lengthy and expensive fights that could go on for weeks — months even. We need urgent resources for our Victory Protection Fund to make sure we can protect this victory. We would not be asking for more funds if it was not so urgent.”

Murphy raised about $4 million for the congressional District 18 race, but tells contributors in the e-mail that “We threw everything we had at winning in the last few days.”

FORT PIERCE — Republican U.S. Rep. Allen West wants courts to order elections officials to impound ballots and voting machines in preparation for a recount following his narrow loss to Democratic challenger Patrick Murphy.

Motions for injunctions were filed in St. Lucie and Palm Beach counties. Information wasn’t immediately available from Martin County, the third county in congressional District 18.

West trails Murphy by 2,456 votes or 0.78 percent. That’s not close enough to trigger a state law that requires a recount for races decided by 0.5 percent or less. But West claims irregularities in the way St. Lucie County counted its early ballots.

St. Lucie County Elections Supervisor Gertrude Walker has already sealed ballots after West’s attorney made a request to the canvassing board early this morning.

Walker said some of the 18 memory cards that stored information from more than 37,000 early ballots could not be uploaded properly on Tuesday night, so the ballots were recounted later.

West led by 1,833 votes at around 9:30 p.m. and continued to hold a narrow lead as totals were updated throughout the night. But after the early votes from St. Lucie County were recounted, Murphy had a 2,456-vote advantage.

A statement by West campaign manager Tim Edson said there was “complete chaos” in Walker’s office and accused Walker of “hostility and demonstrated incompetence.”

Walker called the complaint a “low blow.”