TO CLOSE

Julie Pace, head of the Washington office at AP, explains why the exceptional races in Florida and Georgia became so important that even President Donald Trump took the risk of tweeting on one of them. (November 12)
AP

US Chief Justice Mark Walker issued a preliminary injunction this morning in a lawsuit filed by US Senator Bill Nelson for throwing ballots due to mismatched signatures . .

"The specific question in this case is whether the Florida law authorizing county election officers to reject postal votes and provisional ballots for mismatched signatures – without standards, an illusory process to cure, and process to challenge the rejection – is constitutional bring together, "said Walker. "The answer is simple, this is not the case."

This decision is a victory for Nelson who is trying to reduce the margin of almost 13,000 votes between him and Gov. Rick Scott in a razor race in the Senate, which is currently the subject of numerous lawsuits and is currently doing the same. subject of an automatic recount. to a recount by hand.

After the filing of Walker's order, the National Republican Senators Committee filed a notice of appeal with the 11th Circuit.

It is unclear how many rejected ballots are at stake, but at least 3,688, said election officials.

In a 34-page decision based on football metaphors, Walker said Secretary of State Ken Detzner should instruct election supervisors that the state's ploy to eliminate disparate signatures was unconstitutional.

"Think football, football fans can question the content of the rules, but no one disputes that rules are needed to play," said Walker in the first lines of his order.

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I am a former Florida congressman and my vote was rejected because of a "signature asymmetry"

Detzner's lawyer, Mohammed Jazil, claimed that there were administrative procedures and deadlines to be met, with state interests overriding the rights of the voter .

Walker questioned both legal teams on what they recommend doing.

Mark Earley, Electoral Supervisor for Leon County, was called to testify. Although the assignment estimated that there would be no more than 30 minutes left, Earley spent an hour at the booth explaining how subjective the signature comparison process is and how little training is available for signature analysis .

It's a story of rupture. Check back for updates.

Contact Schweers at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @jeffschweers.

Read or share this story: https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/politics/elections/2018/11/15/injunction-issued-issued-mail-ballot-lawsuit/2009854002/