Joel Rudman aims to end loophole allowing write-in ‘ghost’ candidates to close Primaries

Joel Rudman hits the ground running. Image via Facebook.

An elections bill filed by state Rep. Joel Rudman could close a write-in loophole and limit the impact of “ghost” candidates.

The Navarre Republican filed legislation (HB 51) ahead of his departure from the Florida House to run for Congress. But he said there has been widespread abuse of write-in candidacies to the detriment of voters.

“This is a loophole in our constitution and statutes that flies in the face of democratic principles,” he said.

Rudman’s bill tackles a handful of hot-button election issues.

That includes prohibiting the connection of any voting systems to the internet in statute. The Department of State prohibits that now administratively.

As written, the bill also would give election officials the option to count ballots at the precinct level either by machine or by hand. There has been a push among conservatives for hand counts. Similar language appeared in an election bill last Session by state Rep. Berny Jacques, a Pinellas Republican, but that ultimately did not pass.

“That was an idea brought to me by my constituents in Santa Rosa County, and there must be something to that if two different conservatives are hearing it from different parts of the state,” Rudman said.

He dismissed concerns about whether that would slow down the tabulation of votes.

But the chief focus of the bill is on disincentivizing ghost candidates, specifically those who file as write-in candidates to close Primaries.

Florida law requires party Primaries to be closed to only voters registered to those respective political parties. However, Primaries must be open to all voters if only candidates from a single party file for an office, ensuring that the winner of the Primary will win the post.

But because long-shot write-in candidates count as General Election opponents, they require Primaries to be closed. Candidates often file strategically as write-ins to help other candidates who may benefit from limiting the pool of voters.

“This is a tactic used a lot, often by unpopular incumbents, to limit the votes that will be cast. Other ghost candidates try and split the votes,” Rudman said.

Rudman noted a Panhandle election where an unpopular County Commissioner was tied personally to multiple write-in candidates. He declined to identify the race specifically. Escambia County Commissioner Jeff Bergosh was tied in media accounts to multiple write-in candidates this year but ultimately lost a closed Republican Primary to Steve Stroberger in August.

Rudman’s bill tries to weaken write-in candidacies in multiple ways. For starters, it would require candidates to pay a qualifying fee or meet a petition requirement the same as other candidates without party affiliation. Right now, the state requires no qualifying fee for write-ins, and elections offices in cities and counties only charge a minimal clerical fee at most.

The legislation also would end automatic recognition of write-in opponents as General Election opponents. That would mean a write-in candidate alone would not force a Primary to be closed or elections to be otherwise rescheduled to accommodate candidates who aren’t running campaigns in earnest.

“In most cases, that’s the only reason candidates run,” Rudman said. “Unfortunately, we’ve seen abuse across party lines. These people shouldn’t be running for office in the first place.”

This is one of several contentious bills Rudman has filed, even though he is leaving office on Jan. 1 to comply with Florida’s “resign to run” law. He is one of 10 Republicans competing in a Jan. 28 Primary in Florida’s 1st Congressional District to replace former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz. The winner of that Primary advances to an April 1 Special General Election.

That means Rudman will leave before the start of the Legislative Session. But he hopes a co-sponsor will continue to carry the bill.

“If this can get to hearings, you may see me come back and testify in favor of them as a private citizen,” he said, “or potentially as a Congressman-elect.”