Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is taking too long to call special elections for two legislative seats, the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida says in a lawsuit filed Thursday in Leon County.
The group is suing on behalf of Christina Forrest and Janet Laimont, residents of the districts where the lawmakers representing them have resigned to run for Congress.
Forrest resides in Navarre, a Panhandle town in House District 3, where former Rep. Joel Rudman, R-Navarre, resigned effective Jan. 1 to run for an open U.S. House seat.
He’s attempting to replace former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, who was initially tapped as President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Attorney General before bowing out in the face of Senate opposition. Gaetz, though, stuck to his resignation from Congress.
Laimont is a resident of Palm Bay, which lies in Senate District 19. State Sen. Randy Fine, R-Melbourne Beach, has submitted his resignation effective March 31 to run for a U.S. House seat that’s soon to be vacated by U.S. Rep. Michael Waltz, Trump’s pick for national security advisor.
“The Governor’s failure – inaction longer than any of his predecessors in known history – leaves the constituents of SD 19 and HD 3 without representation and threatens to deprive them of a voice in the halls of the Capitol during the 2025 session set to begin in March,” the lawsuit claims.
The 60-day legislative session will begin March 4.
DeSantis set special elections for congressional vacancies
The governor has called special elections for the congressional races to replace Gaetz and Waltz. There will be primaries held Jan. 28 and general elections held April 1 in those races.
Rep. Joel Rudman was first elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2022.
The lawsuit claims there have been 75 legislative and congressional vacancies in Florida since 1999 and the average time for the governor to call a special election was 7.6 days.
Rudman submitted his resignation Nov. 25. Fine submitted his resignation, which is irrevocable, the next day. An message seeking comment from DeSantis’ office wasn’t immediately returned.
“The Santa Rosa community has the right to full representation in the Legislature,” Forrest said in a released statement. “The governor’s refusal to call a special election deprives us of that right, breaking with decades of precedent. It’s undemocratic and wrong.”
Rudman’s seat is already vacant, but Fine will remain in office until nearly halfway through the session. Still, Laimont said it’s important to have the seat filled as quickly as possible.
“Brevard County deserves a state senator who will represent us in Tallahassee without delay,” Laimont stated. “We’re filing this lawsuit to demand that the governor fulfill his duty and ensure our community’s voice is heard.”
Democrats have consistently bemoaned DeSantis’ process for calling special elections, alleging it’s often done for partisan purposes.
When Democratic U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings died in April 2021, DeSantis didn’t call a special election for more than a month. After a lawsuit was filed seeking an order requiring DeSantis to set the date for the election, DeSantis did just that, but the date was set for January 2022, leaving a Democratic seat without representation for nearly a year.
When the vacancies of Gaetz and Waltz – both Republicans – arose, DeSantis cited the need to fill the seats quickly.
“At Governor Ron DeSantis’ direction, this Special Election is being conducted as quickly as statutorily possible,” Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd, a DeSantis appointee, said at the time. “We are committed to ensuring this election is held as soon as we are allowed to hold it by state law.”
Gray Rohrer is a reporter with the USA TODAY Network-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at grohrer@gannett.com. Follow him on X: @GrayRohrer.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: ACLU sues Gov. Ron DeSantis over legislative special election delays