But Broward County Commissioner Suzanne Gunzburger, a Democratic member of the canvassing board, said a manual recount was the only way to make sure that the tally was accurate. Dozens of counters were on hand Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, but the canvassing board did not allow them to count ballots pending a decision from the Florida Supreme Court. Counting began Thursday night and is expected to take at least six long days. Some of the counters are county employees who receive overtime while sifting through ballots. Lunch is sandwiches and chips.
Dinner is chicken and pasta.
The benefits aren't as good in Broward County, where the 240 ballot counters and partisan observers are volunteers. All they receive is a box lunch with a sandwich, chips and soda. Then there are the lawyers, scrambling to keep on top of the myriad lawsuits filed in state and federal courts. Gunzburger also has an attorney by her side, Larry S. Davis, but would not say whether she or the county is paying his bill. Even though the ballot counters in Broward are not getting paid, many of them are county and courthouse employees who are not performing their regular duties.