Latest news with #SupervisorOfElections
Yahoo
06-08-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Man denied a ballot spot in Ocala mayoral election files federal lawsuit
A man who tried to run for mayor in the upcoming city of Ocala election but was denied because of a residency issue and because officials said he failed to get enough valid petition signatures has filed a federal lawsuit against Marion County Supervisor of Elections Wesley Wilcox. Neil Joseph Gillespie, representing himself in this civil action, filed the complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. Gillespie, 69, seeks $1 million in damages plus legal fees, costs and "other relief this Court deems necessary in the interest of justice." Contacted by a Star-Banner reporter, Wilcox declined comment, saying he wants to wait until he has completely read the paperwork. In July, Gillespie was among the candidates seeking to run in the city's Sept. 16 election. Candidates submitted their paperwork during the qualifying period, which ran July 7-11. At the conclusion of the qualifying period, elections officials said no candidate had fulfilled all the requirements to qualify for a ballot spot. A new qualifying period was set for July 16-18. This time, only Gillespie failed to qualify for a ballot spot. The reasons: a residency issue and he did not have enough valid petition signatures. Petition signatures Gillespie submitted 41 signatures for review, but only 12 were accepted. The reasons for rejection: one petition signature was illegible; one petition had a bad signature; 18 signers were deemed "wrong district," meaning they did not live within the city limits; and nine were misfiled/not registered. Elections officials said they could not find those persons as registered voters. Only those living within the Ocala city limits can vote in the election. The Supervisor of Elections Office website shows that of the 255,521 eligible Marion County voters, 33,232 are Ocala residents. To qualify for a ballot spot, candidates had to get 25 valid petition signatures and pay a fee: $66 for mayor and $24 for city council. The fee is equivalent to 1 percent of the salary. The mayor serves a two-year term with a salary of $550 per month. Council members serve four-year terms and are paid $200 per month. All races are nonpartisan. In his lawsuit, Gillespie said the number of valid petition signatures should not matter. His reading of Florida law says the petition requirement is unconstitutional; all that matters is that he paid the filing fee. Residency But signatures were not Gillespie's only problem. In his lawsuit, Gillespie said he is registered to vote in Marion County, but not in a way that allows him to run for mayor. Gillespie has lived in Marion County for 20 years. He said he was evicted at gunpoint after a foreclosure in May 2022. He said he was homeless from May 2022 to January 2023, when he rented a place in the Starting Gate Executive Office complex off State Road 200. Gillespie said the suite is home to Justice Network, described as a group "engaged in advocacy, education, news gathering and dissemination, and helping people fight injustice." Gillespie said he relies on Social Security and is unable to obtain other adequate housing. The complaint states that although Gillespie is registered to vote, Wilcox "has repeatedly refused to register" him at that address, since the U.S. Post Office does not recognize it as a residential address. For voter registration purposes, Gillespie's address is simply listed as the elections office address. Thus, Gillespie cannot participate in city of Ocala elections or qualify for a ballot spot in a city election. Gillespie said he filed a complaint with the Florida Department of State/Division of Elections in late July alleging Wilcox "has willfully refused or willfully neglected to perform his duty to register Gillespie to vote in the City of Ocala, Florida, in violation of Fla. Stat. s. 104.51." He said the department has not responded to, or acknowledged, his complaint. In the lawsuit, Gillespie said he dropped off a voter registration application to Wilcox on Aug. 1 and he received an email response on Aug. 4. Gillespie said his voter registration online record shows his voting address as the elections center. Let's do it again: City of Ocala election back on after all candidates fail to initially qualify Contact Austin L. Miller at This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Man who wishes to run for mayor in Ocala, Florida challenges election ruling Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
02-08-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Seminole residents puzzled by elections office postcard asking for address
Hundreds of thousands of Seminole County voters — regardless of political party — received postcards in their mailboxes this week from the Supervisor of Elections Office requesting them to verify their addresses, sign their names and mail a portion of the card back. The cards — which went out to all 350,697 registered voters in Seminole — state in blue type: 'You are receiving this card because we want to ensure we have your correct name and address in our records.' It then reads in bold underlined type: 'Please respond within 30 days.' Despite what appeared to be a warning and a hard deadline, Seminole Supervisor Amy Pennock said voters are not required to return the forms, 'but it is encouraged.' 'There is no penalty' if they don't respond, she said, and their voter eligibility would not be affected. Instead, the cards are meant to comply with a 2024 state law that mandates each county periodically update its list of registered voters and make sure mailing addresses are correct, Pennock said. 'If we have the wrong information in our system for a voter, and they don't update it, there could be issues when they show up to vote if they are at a wrong polling location,' Pennock said Thursday. 'Or a requested vote by mail ballot may go to the incorrect address.' Pennock said voters were asked 'to respond within 30 days to create a sense of urgency and encourage action' because a majority of voters do not notify her office whenever they move or change names. 'Keeping voter information current is essential to running smooth and secure elections,' she said. 'It helps to reduce delays, prevent confusion and build trust in the process.' If voters don't want to spend 78 cents for a stamp and a trip to the post office, they also can visit to verify or correct their address online, Pennock said. Still, the 11-by-6-inch white postcards unsettled a few Seminole voters at a time when many Americans are suspicious of elections after President Donald Trump falsely claimed the 2020 presidential election was rigged. 'It certainly makes you feel like you won't be able to vote if you don't do anything,' said Larry Furlong, a longtime Seminole resident and former county commissioner, said after he received the postcard on Thursday. 'That should have been clearly stated in that card, that it's not required, and it's not.' Another Seminole woman said in an email to the Orlando Sentinel on Friday she was puzzled when she received 'a strange card' from the Elections Office asking her to confirm her address. 'I have lived here over ten years and have never received anything like it,' she wrote. 'I always vote. There should be no question that I am an active member of the voter rolls. The card does not indicate what happens if not returned.' In Orange County, all 820,530 registered voters will receive similar address confirmation requests by early September, according to Blake Summerlin, an office spokesman. But adding to the confusion, in Lake and Osceola counties, only registered voters who had not voted in 2022 and 2024 were sent cards requesting a similar address confirmation last spring. Voters who didn't respond to those requests, however, were then placed on an inactive voter list. The Florida law requires county elections offices to periodically update the information on their voter rolls, either by contacting all voters — as Seminole is doing — or by reaching out only to voters who have not voted in the past two elections. 'When you are considered an inactive voter, we stop sending you mail,' said Kari Ewalt, administrative services director for Osceola's Supervisor of Elections Office. 'But you can still vote. You can still do all the things that an active voter can.' This year, the Osceola Supervisor of Elections Office moved about 28,000 of the total 221,390 registered voters to the inactive list. To regain active voter status, 'all it takes is to call us or show up to vote,' said Alan Hays, Lake's supervisor of elections. His office sent out notices to about 19,000 inactive registered voters. But after four years of an inactive voter neither casting a ballot nor notifying the elections office, they are purged from the voter rolls, Hays said. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Tampa City Council candidate Orlando Gudes may violate residency rules
Orlando Gudes, a former Tampa City Council member now running for the vacant District 5 seat, may not meet residency requirements to hold the office, according to county records obtained by the Tampa Bay Times. A recent voter audit report from the Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections shows that Gudes requested to change his address from District 7 to District 5 on June 17, two weeks before he announced his candidacy. Per the county elections supervisor, candidates must have lived in their district 'for six months immediately preceding the commencement of their term of office.' The special election to fill the vacant District 5 seat, which opened after Council member Gwen Henderson died suddenly last month, is set for Sept. 9, with a likely runoff in late October. The winner will assume office immediately. If Gudes wins in either month, he will have lived in the district for fewer than five months. The candidate did not respond to multiple emails and calls for comment. Gudes' full address is protected from public disclosure because he is a former police officer. The District 5 seat serves downtown, East Tampa, Ybor City and parts of West Tampa. Henderson had more than 15 months left in her term when she died. Gerri Kramer, spokesperson for the Hillsborough Supervisor of Elections, said the elections office plays a ministerial role in accepting candidate qualifying documents and does not have the authority to determine their accuracy. 'This ultimately may need to be decided by a court,' said Adam Smith, spokesperson for the City of Tampa. Gudes was originally elected to the Tampa City Council in 2019 to represent District 5. In 2020, a legislative aide — Henderson's sister — accused Gudes of making lewd remarks and creating a hostile work environment. A monthslong investigation found most of the claims to be credible, but a lawsuit filed by the aide was dismissed and the city announced a separate $200,000 settlement with her. Gudes denied the allegations, and the city agreed to pay the legal fees he incurred defending himself against the suit. In 2022, Gudes faced questions about his address. While on the council, Gudes, who said he was living in his East Tampa childhood home, received an improper tax break for a property he owned in North Tampa. Gudes requested that the homestead exemption be removed and paid the Hillsborough County Appraiser's Office more than $13,000 for the 2019, 2020 and 2021 tax years. 'Once we heard about it, we took care of the problem,' Gudes told the Tampa Bay Times in 2022. 'We took care of all the issues.' Gudes lost his bid for reelection in 2023 to Henderson. This year, Gudes is one of 11 candidates to enter the race as of July 9. The winner will serve until the next City of Tampa municipal election in 2027.
