U.S. Rep. Scott Franklin, R-Lakeland, who was elected to his first term in November, cited the Democrats’ objections to previous elections in explaining his intention to contest the vote. Those efforts by Democrats in some previous objections weren’t taken seriously by anyone, and unlike this year’s challenge, weren’t even supported by the presidential candidates they were purportedly aimed at helping. In 2004, for example, a handful of Democrats wanted to draw attention to voter supression.