Civil Rights Group Sues DeSantis for Not Calling Special Elections for Legislative Seats

A top civil rights group is suing Gov. Ron DeSantis for not setting special election dates for two legislative seats that are, or soon will be, vacant—more than a month after the resignations were announced.

The suit was filed on behalf of two Floridians in Leon County Circuit Court Thursday by the American Civil Liberties Union to address the lack of special election dates for Randy Fine's Senate District 19 and Joel Rudman's House District 3.

Both lawmakers announced their resignations in November to pursue congressional seats.

"Brevard County deserves a state senator who will represent us in Tallahassee without delay," said plaintiff Janet Laimont, a constituent of Sen. Fine, whose resignation takes effect March 31 to run for Congressional District 6. "We’re filing this lawsuit to demand that the governor fulfill his duty and ensure our community’s voice is heard.”

Though no special primary election for Fine's seat can be held before he leaves office, this would not stop DeSantis from announcing the election schedule for SD 19. Fine, for his part, told The Floridian via phone call that no voter is being "disenfranchised" in his district because he hasn't left office yet.

"I'd like to see my district represented as soon as possible once I leave office on March 31," Fine said. "DeSantis isn't disenfranchising anyone in my district thus far."

He remarked, however, that he doesn't know how the statute would apply to Rep. Rudman's seat, considering Rudman's resignation went into effect on Jan. 1—a sentiment that plaintiff Christina Forrest, hailing from Navarre Republican Rudman's district, also noted and expounded upon.

“The Santa Rosa community has the right to full representation in the Legislature; the governor’s refusal to call a special election deprives us of that right, breaking with decades of precedent," said Forrest. "It’s undemocratic and wrong."

The court order, which demands that DeSantis call a special election immediately, is not the first legal issue the Governor has faced on this topic.

Voters in three state House districts in 2021 sued DeSantis after he waited over a month to schedule elections, even though the average time past governors have waited to announce these dates was 7.6 days.  It was only after lawsuits were filed demanding to know what caused the delay that he announced each election for the three Democratic Reps.

In 2023, the ACLU of Florida filed a similar suit against the Governor for waiting over a month to schedule an election for a Republican Rep. who resigned. Weeks after the suit, the special election was announced.

Though DeSantis promptly announced special elections for congressmen Waltz and Gaetz weeks after President-elect Donald Trump announced their respective nominations for his administration (though Gaetz ended up withdrawing his nomination), DeSantis has yet to speak on Fine's or Rudman's seats.

The special primary election for CD-1 and CD-6 will be on Jan. 28. The general will be on April 1.

Rudman did not respond to a request for comment at the time of publishing.