I found amusing the memo from Rick Scott’s Deputy Campaign Manager Tim Saler regarding the rates of absentee ballots being returned. The memo would be useful for those of us that love to crunch numbers if it was in any way an accurate reflection of the statewide electorate. Let’s look deeper at the numbers…in Pinellas County the GOP edge in returned VBM ballots is only 3,100. In Hillsborough County, it is only a 45 ballot GOP advantage.

South Florida’s ballots only went out at the beginning of this week and returned ballots won’t start showing up until today. So…is this advantage the Scott campaign and Florida Republicans are touting real? No, in fact given the similarity to the final VBM numbers of 2010 these current numbers should be a real cause for alarm in the GOP camp. But deceiving the press while shrouding themselves in a cloak of secrecy is the GOP way in Florida. Why should this misleading campaign memo be any different?