Politics can be confusing, and with so much information coming from so many media platforms, it may be unclear as to what a recount of votes entails.

Here are a few definitions to keep in mind as you pay attention to the news this week.

Recount: Election recounts exist in order to confirm the correctness of the original tabulation of votes. Under Florida law, a recount is automatically employed when the final margin between the two candidates is equal to or less than .50 percent. During these recounts, county officials throughout the state run the ballots through the ballot machines again. If the margin then decreases to below .25 percent, undervotes and overvotes are then identified and recounts are to be conducted manually.

Undervotes: These are ballots that go uncounted due to an unclear marking of some sort by the voter. These unclear markings can include a variety of situations in which the voting machine is unable to read a ballot. For example, if a voter does not vote in a particular race on the ballot or one of the markings is unclear, the ballot will most likely become an undervote.

Overvotes: This is when the number of votes counted in an election is greater than the number of ballots that were cast. This usually happens when a voter marks more than one selection in the same race on their ballot.

Counties throughout the state have been diligently participating in recounts of the races for the Florida Commissioner of Agriculture, Senator and Governor since the Friday after election day. Recount results are due from all counties by tomorrow, Nov. 15, at 3 p.m. Palm Beach County has advocated for a deadline extension due to the alleged inability to count all of the votes by the given time.

The question of whether or not they may be granted an extension or not is still being decided.

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