Bill forcing Gov. DeSantis to quickly call Special Elections passes first Committee

A bill that would force Gov. Ron DeSantis to call a Special Election within two weeks of an official vacancy unanimously cleared its first Senate committee Wednesday.

SB 460 was inspired by DeSantis’ sometimes taking as long as three months to schedule Special Elections after a state lawmaker has left his or her seat, bill sponsor Democrat Sen. Tina Scott Polsky said in a meeting of the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee.

“Without a set timeline for a special election, dramatic inconsistencies in scheduling can occur,” said Polsky, a Broward Democrat. “Sometimes people wonder, is it for political reasons? … I think we can do a lot better.”

Under the bill, the Governor would be required to fix the dates of a Special Primary and General Election within 14 days after the vacancy occurs. If possible, the bill asks that the Specials coincide with regularly scheduled elections. And if the Governor doesn’t comply with the bill’s deadlines, electors can file a petition with the circuit court asking the judge to set a date.

Three of the four Special Elections this year were scheduled 50 or more days after the vacancy initially occurred. The longest wait this year (and since 2022) was for Senate District 14, the seat held by then-Sen. Jay Collins. Although Collins resigned in August to become Lieutenant Governor, DeSantis took 73 days to schedule the Special Election.

The ACLU of Florida has sued DeSantis three times in the past three years for allegedly slow-walking Special Elections. Each time, he promptly scheduled the dates and the suits were dropped.

Polsky argues that this leaves voters without representation.

“Delayed Special Elections deny representation,” she said.

All members of the elections committee voted for Polsky’s bill, although Republican Sens. Jennifer Bradley and Don Gaetz, of Crestview, asked for the Governor to have more time to call the elections in the case of an emergency. Polsky agreed.

“Florida has been a leader in elections, we go to extraordinary efforts,” said Bradley, of Fleming Island. “I see this bill as building on that, building in certainty … (although) the bill probably needs more clarification to make sure we’re not binding hands at time when it’s appropriate.”

SB 460 heads to the Judiciary Committee next.

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Reporting by Liv Caputo. Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Michael Moline for questions: [email protected].