The recount is set to begin Monday or Tuesday morning and must be completed by 3 p.m. Thursday, according to Miami-Dade County election rules. If the candidates remain separated by 0.25 percentage points or less after the machine recount, a manual recount will be required.

Salazar declared victory on election night, telling supporters, "We have prevailed -- we prevailed against all odds." She has described her lead as "insurmountable."

Rodriguez has urged patience. "We knew it was going to be close and it is, so we have to wait for the votes to be counted," he said.

Amid the recount preparations, Rodriguez filed a federal lawsuit against Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections Alina Garcia, demanding that she recuse herself from overseeing the process. The lawsuit alleges a conflict of interest because the attorney representing Salazar during the recount is Garcia's son-in-law. Rodriguez argues that the family connection raises concerns about potential bias.

Garcia rejected the suggestion that the relationship affects her ability to oversee the election. "I am not the one counting the votes. Everything is transparent and open," she said.

Salazar criticized Rodriguez's legal action, accusing him in a social media post of "behaving like an election denier, attempting to turn this process into a political circus because he does not like the election outcome."

The race is one of the closest in the country, with all precincts reporting. According to unofficial results, Salazar received 124,528 votes (50%) and Rodriguez received 123,438 votes (50%). The narrow margin has drawn attention to the integrity of the recount process and the role of election officials in ensuring public trust.

As the recount gets underway, both campaigns and local voters are watching closely. The outcome will determine who represents the district in Congress for the next two years.