10/09/2024
A senior judge on Tuesday ruled that the ballot language on an upcoming referendum in Alachua County on single-member voting districts is "unlawful" and in violation of state statute.
In his ruling, Judge Olin Shinholser wrote that the 2024 ballot initiative must use the same ballot language as the measure that passed in 2022 that created single-member districts.
"Because the language in the current proposed referendum does not comply with Florida law, any resulting vote will be a legal nullity and not the basis for changing the voting method, if the result is a vote for at large voting," Shinholser wrote.
The referendum on the upcoming November ballot reads as follows:
“Shall the five members of the board of county commissioners of Alachua County, Florida, be elected by all electors within the county at large?”
According to the ruling, however, per state statute, the referendum must read the same as the 2022 initiative:
“Shall the five members of the board of county commissioner of Alachua County, Florida, be elected to office from single-member districts by electors residing in each of those districts only?"
In a statement to The Sun, Alachua County spokesperson Mark Sexton said "Nothing has changed for the voters on the issue."
"The injunction was denied. The question remains on the November 2024 ballot. The votes will be counted and certified, and the voters will decide on this issue. Alachua County is appealing the portion of the ruling regarding the ballot language to ensure the will of the voters is respected during the election of 2026," Sexton said, referencing the next year when commissioners will be up for reelection.
Single-member districts have been a contentious issue in the county since the last election cycle when Republican groups were accused by many of using misleading quotes and mailers to confuse voters on the topic. Those in favor of single-member districts spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on advertising, while county officials were restricted by law from producing any content that discussed the referendum.
While Shinholser noted in his ruling that it is "clear that some or all of the commissioners were dissatisfied with the results of the 2022 referendum," he wrote that it wasn't for the court to decide on issues of politics.
"Whether the commissioners have acted in good faith by placing the issue before the voters again in such a short period of time is a political question, not a legal one upon which the court can act," Shinholser wrote.
Attorney Jeff Childers, who filed for the injunction on behalf of state Sen. Keith Perry, R-Gainesville, and three other residents, trumpeted the judge's ruling.
"The court recognized what we've been saying all along — this ballot measure is a blatant overreach and an attempt to undermine the will of the voters," Childers said in a press release. "The people of Alachua County spoke in 2022, and the Board’s attempt to force this issue back on the ballot is both illegal and reckless."
Perry echoed Childers' thoughts.
"This was about standing up for the rule of law and protecting the voice of the people. The court’s decision today confirms that Alachua County voters should not be forced to relitigate an issue that was settled in 2022," Perry said in a press release.
Shinholser, in his ruling, however, wrote that the board could present the issue to the voters in the future once the ballot language is corrected.
"He (the judge) also said in a different part of the order that he wasn't going to reach the constitutional issues in this ruling because he didn't need to," Childers told The Sun Tuesday afternoon. "The battle line if they (the county) do bring it back in two years, the battle lines will move back to our constitutional arguments at that point."
The petition for injunction argued that Florida statute only allows for a Board of County Commissioners "to submit a proposition calling for single-member representation, and does not authorize the BOCC to submit a proposition calling for at-large representation."
The Nov. 5 General Election will be the first in the county's history that county commissioners are elected by single-member districts, meaning that only voters who reside in a particular district will cast ballots for their commissioner.
Only two County Commission seats are up for grabs this year, both in the southwest corner of the county. Democratic incumbent Anna Prizzia will face off against Republican challenger Jenn Garrett for the District 3 seat, while Democratic incumbent Mary Alford will face Republican challenger Lizabeth Ann Doebler for the District 1 seat. District 5 Commissioner Charles "Chuck" Chestnut is running unopposed.
The judge wrote that the county could present the issue to the voters in the future once the ballot language is corrected.
