Tracie Davis wants quicker Special Elections following resignations, deaths

Under a Tracie Davis bill, lottery winners can remain private just a little longer.

A new bill could impose requirements on Gov. Ron DeSantis to call Special Elections in a more timely fashion.

Sen. Tracie Davis, a Jacksonville Democrat, filed legislation (SB 1556) that would give the Governor just five days after an elected office becomes vacant to call a Special Election. It would also require any vacancies prompted by officials resigning to run for a Special Election to be filled in elections held concurrently.

That follows years of criticism over DeSantis’ apparent reluctance to call Special Elections, including recent dustups about both Republican- and Democrat-held seats.

“We have watched seats just remain open, and if we are statutorily wanting to move ahead, we cannot let these seats just sit vacant,” Davis said.

Davis began working on the legislation, she said, after DeSantis dragged his feet on calling a Special Election to fill state Sen. Randy Fine’s Senate seat when the Palm Bay Republican resigned to run for Congress. It was only after the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sued that DeSantis called Special Elections there and in House District 3, which also opened because of a resignation related to a congressional Special Election.

DeSantis did immediately call a Special Election when state Rep. Debbie Mayfield resigned her House District 32 seat to run for Fine’s Senate seat — though his administration tried unsuccessfully to bar the Melbourne Republican from running.

The whole episode showed that the Governor had too much discretion in handling Special Election schedules, and revealed a need to set clear guidelines in state law, Davis said.

But there remains additional urgency over the Democratic-leaning Senate District 15, which sits vacant after the unexpected death of state Sen. Geraldine Thompson earlier this month.

Davis, who choked up when talking about Thompson, said the Orlando Democrat would have wanted colleagues to grieve for her, but for her seat to be filled as quickly as possible.

“She was an election warrior who would have wanted this election process to move in a timely manner to ensure her constituents are represented with the best, qualified person,” Davis said.

In this case, she said Thompson had already expressed a desire for state Rep. LaVon Bracy Davis to run for her seat when her time in office was over.

But Davis expects DeSantis to wait until after the Legislative Session to call a Special Election. Democrats have some reason for concern after watching the Governor leave former U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings’ congressional district unrepresented for more than a year following the Fort Lauderdale Democrat’s 2021 death.

The ACLU also sued DeSantis over that vacancy before the Governor acted. Kara Gross, ACLU Legislative Director, praised Davis’ bill.

“I think this bill would fix a lot of the issues we’ve seen with delayed Specials, and multiple overlapping Specials caused by resign-to-run,” she said. “This would also allow a shorter time period between a Primary and Special General.”

David hopes the recent controversy over Mayfield’s candidacy shows the bipartisan nature of leaving Special Election scheduling to the Governor’s discretion.

“It would be encouraging if there is bipartisan support,” Davis said. “But I still feel like the Governor is calling the shots and ruling with a very heavy hand in Tallahassee.”