Tallahassee Democrat staff reports

Keeping politics out of Thanksgiving dinner may be difficult this year. Election 2018 overtime could possibly take the entire month of November to definitively decide who our next governor, U.S. Senator and Agriculture Commissioner will be.

By the end of this week, three of the top races on the state’s mid-term ballot will likely cross the threshold into machine recounts of the ballots — and a possible hand recount of over and under votes.

Here are the important dates as elections supervisors and the Department of State Division of Elections sort through more than 8.1 million ballots to find who the winners and losers of the 2018 midterm are.

An Election Overtime Timeline

Saturday, Nov. 10, noon: Canvassing boards unofficial returns are due in Tallahassee. The Secretary of State then determines which races meet the less than half-percent victory margin threshold requiring a machine recount.

Saturday, Nov. 10, 3 p.m.: State-wide machine recount begins.

Thursday, Nov. 15: Results of machine recounts due in Tallahassee.

Thursday, Nov. 15, 3 p.m.: Second unofficial returns are due in Tallahassee and the Secretary of State determines which races meet the less than a quarter percent victory margin threshold to order a hand recount of overvote and undervote ballots.

Friday, Nov. 16: Count begins for military and overseas ballots post-marked Nov. 6 or earlier.

Sunday, Nov. 18, noon: County canvassing boards hand count results due in Tallahassee.

Tuesday, November 20, 9 a.m.: The Elections Canvassing Commission, consisting of the governor and two cabinet members, meets to certify the Nov. 6 election official returns.

Friday, Nov. 30: Deadline for any candidate, voter or taxpayer to contest election results in circuit court.