Alachua County government filed a brief last week to appeal a trial court decision that called the at-large district ballot referendum illegal and nullified the results, with 71% voting to pass the referendum.
Filed in Florida First District Court of Appeals, the Alachua County brief says the lower court erred in two ways: by ruling when there was no present dispute (only the possibility of a future dispute) and by misinterpreting Florida Statutes.
The referendum, on the November 2024 ballot, asked Alachua County residents if they wanted to elect county commissioners on an at-large basis—switching from the single-member district system in place. That single-member district system was implemented in 2022 after the successful passage of another referendum by 51.5% of voters.
The 2022 referendum was placed on the ballot by the Florida Legislature through a local bill sponsored by state Sen. Keith Perry, R-Gainesville, and state Rep. Chuck Clemons, R-Newberry.
In the leadup to the 2022 election, elected officials for Alachua County and the state argued over fliers and called out misinformation by the other side.
The Alachua County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) voted in April 2024 to place the issue, an at-large system versus a single-member district system, back before voters. Commissioner Ken Cornell said at the vote that misinformation caused people to vote against their wishes and skewed the result.
After the BOCC placed a new referendum on the 2024 ballot, a lawsuit was filed. Perry joined three other Alachua County residents in the lawsuit that called the referendum illegal.
While the group’s petition for an emergency injunction was denied, the judge still ruled the ballot language failed to follow state statutes, nullifying the vote. However, Alachua County said at the time that it planned to appeal the decision.
Alachua County filed its brief on Dec. 10, hoping for a successful appeal in order to enforce the 2024 referendum. Now, the other side will need to file a response.
Alachua County’s brief said that the decision made by the lower court, a declaratory relief, can only be made for a present dispute.
“It is clear no actual present dispute requiring judicial intervention existed here,” the brief said. “Instead, Petitioners were seeking what was essentially an advisory opinion based on the mere possibility of legal injury if the referendum passed.”
Even if the courts say a present dispute did exist, Alachua County said Senior Judge Olin Shinholser misinterpreted Section 124.011(9)(a) of Florida Statutes, inferring what the Legislature meant against the plain language used.
Shinholser said the county must use the ballot language included in that section of statutes. However, Alachua County said the part that the county must follow references how the referendum may be placed on the ballot and when it may be submitted to the electors—not the language itself.
Ballot language comparison
- Language approved by BOCC: “Shall the five members of the board of county commissioners of Alachua County, Florida, be elected by all electors within the county at large?”
- Florida Statute language referenced by Shinholser: “Shall the five members of the board of county commissioner of Alachua County, Florida, be elected to office from single-member districts by electors residing in each of those districts only?”
“Even if a court is convinced the legislature actually meant something other than the meaning conveyed by the words used, in the absence of any ambiguity in the language itself, the court may not disregard the plain meaning of the words used – if the legislature intended something else, it made the mistake, and should fix it,” Alachua County said referencing another court case (Overstreet v. State, 629 So. 2d 125, 126).
Until the courts settle the question, Alachua County remains under the single-member district system. Voters will next elect county commissioners in 2026.
I can’t think of any other government were “at large” benefits the people. “At large” voting is used for the sole purpose of a small group of people controling everything in a government. It goes back to the “jim Crow” days. Were white people used it to control all other ethnic groups. Definitely takes the voice of the people away.
It’s funny watching the group that is fighting for it. Now you know were the white supremacist live and who they are.
It’s fun that the County gets to use our tax dollars to fight things. What’s their complaint, they won the town seats that were on the Nov Ballot. Spilt milk.
Most counties in Florida use the at-large system, including GOP-controlled Counties. The 2022 single-member district campaign spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on misinformation and barely passed. The 2024 measure corrected the misinformation and passed by over 70% of the voters. I believe the voters have spoken, and the other side should withdraw the suit.
A better use of the TAXPAYER’S MONEY would be FIXING THE COUNTY ROADS. Instead, Alachua County government uses OUR tax money to try to take away the non-Gainesville residents’ representation. They make me sick. They are a bunch of self-serving, virtue-signaling demagogues.