Sen. Keith Perry (R) files lawsuit against Alachua County to stop ballot measure for at-large Commission districts

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Senator Keith Perry, Kimberly Hord, Jose Lopez, and Sharla Head, represented by Attorney Jeff Childers, have filed an emergency petition for a temporary injunction to stop a ballot measure that would allow Alachua County voters to reverse a 2022 ballot measure that converted County Commission districts from at-large districts to single-member districts.

Although the 2024 election is the first to be held since the single-member district charter amendment passed in 2022, the County Commission voted on May 14 to ask the voters to change back to at-large districts. Under the at-large system, all voters in the county may vote for each County Commissioner, but each Commissioner must live in the district they represent. Under the single-member system, only the voters living in the Commissioner’s district may vote for their district’s representative.

The petition argues that the Florida statutes governing the election of County Commissioners only authorize the County Commission to submit a proposition calling for single-member representation; there is no provision for the County Commission to submit a proposition calling for at-large representation:

Florida Statutes 124.11(3):
A proposition calling for single-member representation within the county commission districts of the county shall be submitted to the electors of the county at any primary, general, or otherwise-called special election, in either manner following:


https://alachuachronicle.com/sen-keith-perry-files-lawsuit-against-alachua-county-commission-to-stop-ballot-measure-for-at-large-county-commission-districts/