ORLANDO, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis is under pressure from both sides of the aisle to set a date for two key special elections.
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One is in South Florida. The other is right here in Central Florida.
Residents in Orange and Osceola counties are without a representative right now.
Only the Governor can call a special election to fill those seats—something leaders say he needs to do quickly. In fact, he’s facing a lawsuit by the ACLU, demanding he set the dates for Miami-Dade’s District 118.
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It’s been more than two months since District 35′s former state Representative Fred Hawkins announced he was stepping down to become president of South Florida State College. Now, the seat has sat vacant for three weeks with no word from the governor on when he’ll set a special election for--leading election supervisors, candidates and voters to ask—what’s the holdup?
“The latest I’ve heard is nothing. We have talked to the Division of Elections. They have told us that the request from the Governor has been made to set a special election, and we are waiting on the governor to do so,” said Osceola County Board of Election supervisor Mary Jane Arrington says this is the longest amount of time she’s waited on any governor to call a special election.
She’s been a supervisor for the past 15 years.
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Months ago, Arrington along with Orange County Election Supervisor Bill Cowles requested dates in August and September for the primary so the general election would coincide with Orlando City’s election in November.
Both say those primary dates are likely not feasible now because of deadlines with overseas ballots and registration. Arrington says it takes a minimum of three months to prepare for an election.
“Just you know, pick a date,” Arrington said.
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Constituents like Stephen Michael are calling on DeSantis to approve election dates now.
“But unfortunately, his focus is elsewhere. It’s going to take some trying to get his attention to call his office and say ‘hey we’re still here,’” Michael said.
Michael says it’s give them representation in Tallahassee on critical issues like like home insurance and energy bills.
“You have to have someone to listen to you, to voice your concerns and speak on your behalf,” Michael said.
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According to the complaint regarding the other vacant seat, the ACLU said it took the Governor an average of seven to eight days to call a special election out of 6 vacancies between 1999 and 2020. IT’s been over double that for District 35.
Channel 9 reached out to the Governor’s Office for comment. They did not respond.
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