Drew Wilson
A state appeals court has reversed a lower court ruling that kicked Democrat Rebekah Jones off the ballot in the Democratic Primary for Florida’s 1st Congressional District.
Jones was removed from the ballot due to her not meeting party registration requirements in state law governing candidate eligibility. Her removal was later stayed by the court pending appeal.
Florida law requires candidates to have been a registered voter of the party for which they are seeking the nomination for at least one year before the qualification deadline, which was in June.
Jones, who moved from Florida to Maryland, had registered as a Democrat in that state in April 2021. Notably, Florida law does not require candidates to live within the district they are running for until they assume office.
However, in June she changed her registration to unaffiliated. Jones initially indicated that she would run for CD 1 as an independent but updated her paperwork with the Federal Election Commission in August to run as a Democrat.
In a lower court decision, Jones was deemed ineligible because her party swap was made too late into the cycle.
Jones appealed the decision and Florida’s 1st District Court of Appeal sided with her in 3-0 ruling on Monday.
According to the ruling, the “heart of this dispute” stems on “whether the veracity of a duly qualified candidate’s sworn party affiliation statement under section 99.021 may be challenged and used as a basis for disqualification from the ballot. It cannot.”
The court said that “in plain terms” the law “does not require proof of actual party affiliation, nor does it speak at all to disqualification of a candidate if those sworn affirmations turn out to be untrue. It provides no express authority to disqualify a party candidate if she was not in fact a registered party member during the 365-day window.
“Although the Legislature could have included explicit enforcement language in this statute, it didn’t,” the court concluded.
The action means that voters in the Democratic Primary for CD 1 will still be deciding between Jones and fellow Democrat Peggy Schiller, who filed the lawsuit challenging Jones’ candidacy.
“I am naturally disappointed with the ruling today by the Appellate Court, but I support the decision and will not be appealing based on timing. I will now remain laser-focused on the task at hand — winning the Primary tomorrow and unseating Matt Gaetz in November,” Schiller said in a prepared statement.
“Our goal in filing this lawsuit was to reach a swift decision before the Primary. Not filing or waiting to do so would have allowed the Republican nominee to leverage this information to disqualify Jones if she were to win the Primary, potentially leaving no Democrat available to challenge the Republican nominee in November. Therefore, despite today’s ruling, I still believe this was the right action to take.
“We very much appreciate the support that we have received from the community. While the Appellate Court did not agree today, as someone who follows election laws, I hope that voters will realize I am the only true Democrat qualified to represent our district.”
The winner of the Democratic Primary will face the winner of the Republican Primary in November. That will likely be incumbent U.S. Rep. Gaetz, who is widely expected to defeat Republican challenger Mark Lombardo on Tuesday.
12 comments
Impeach Biden
August 22, 2022 at 2:48 pm
Cuckoo for cocoa puffs lives another day. For now. Moms keep your young boys away from that Cougar.
Joe Corsin
August 22, 2022 at 3:17 pm
You have a problem with women there incel. Don’t like bush scrubbing, rug scrubbing, carpet scrubbing etc. Rebecca is hot dude…also not really an old woman. At least you aren’t hiding your homosexuality which would be unhealthy. Good for you👍🏳️🌈🌈💐
ScienceBLVR
August 22, 2022 at 3:38 pm
Yeah, Joe, I have discussed Peachey’s obsession with her before- it’s unhealthy and weird. I even quoted the Dead,” Trouble ahead, trouble behind, and you know that notion just crossed my mind” . I begged him to get off the Rebekah Jones train to no avail.
Impeach Biden
August 22, 2022 at 4:01 pm
Read the history on that nut. It’s all there for you. Now do you think she is fit for office? Start at her LSU troubles, FSU boy toys and romance novels, and then her time at the Florida Dept of Health were she somehow had the media convinced she was a scientist. Then watch the so called raid on her house. Completely insane.
Elliott Offen
August 22, 2022 at 4:07 pm
I read one of her greasy sex novels. We had a rapist and sexual abuser as POTUS 2016 – 2020. What’s wrong with a dirty book writer? And what about PIZZA GAETZ ?🍕
marylou
August 22, 2022 at 9:10 pm
The Velvet Underground got it right, too. Rebekah’s definitely Impeach’s “Venus in Furs”….. shiny leather in the dark…
Mr. Haney
August 22, 2022 at 5:19 pm
Lay off the porn sites, it would get you laid.
Ian
August 22, 2022 at 3:52 pm
Lesson to lawmakers: Do not expect the courts to apply logic when interpreting statutes. You must spell everything out to the nth degree.
Jan Schneider
August 22, 2022 at 5:18 pm
Since Congress is a federal office, the U.S. Constitution controls. Unlike state offices for which one has to live in the district, for the House of Representatives, the requirement is only to live in the state:
Constitution, Article 1 Section 2
“No person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the age of twenty five years, and been seven years a citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that state in which he shall be chosen.”
PeterH
August 22, 2022 at 6:51 pm
If Americans want women to control their own bodies, qualified teachers to replace DeSantis’s culture wars in classrooms, intelligent teacher-student conversations concerning the social issues facing Americans in the 21st century, non-bullying discussion about classroom students who are different, common sense gun regulations, and a new honest approach on how best to address climate change……AMERICANS MUST VOTE ALL REPUBLICANS OUT OF OFFICE. REPUBLICANS ARE AMERICA’S PROBLEM.
tom palmer
August 22, 2022 at 11:40 pm
Let,u,s see what the voters decide.
John Doe
August 23, 2022 at 7:50 am
A psycho who lied in her oath to qualify as a demoncrap. I’d say she is Puuuuurfect for you godless heathen communists, er I mean “Democrats” to run against a Republican who is innocent and never been charged!
Comments are closed.