Debbie Mayfield asks Florida Supreme Court to intervene in disqualification from SD 19 Special Election

State Rep. Debbie Mayfield has asked the Florida Supreme Court to intervene after the Florida Department of State disqualified her in a Special Election in Senate District 19. The Melbourne Republican stressed urgency in a court petition, as a Republican Primary will be held on April 1.

The lawsuit says Secretary of State Cord Byrd exceeded his authority by rejecting her qualification paperwork for the Special Election. The State Department determined term limits forbid Mayfield from immediately running again for a Senate seat she held as recently as last year. But Mayfield in court filings said it’s not the role of the State Department to refuse her a place on the ballot when no one has filed a legal challenge to her candidacy.

“This is because it is well-settled that the Secretary serves a purely ministerial role in processing the Qualifying Paperwork, and has no authority to determine whether the Qualifying Paperwork is accurate, or whether there are grounds to challenge Mayfield’s eligibility to run in the Special Election for SD 19,” the petition reads.

The Division of Elections on Tuesday morning informed Mayfield of the decision in writing.

The message from Division of Elections Director Maria Matthews stated that Mayfield’s candidacy now would violate the Constitution because a person cannot run for Florida Senator “if, by the end of the current term of office, the person will have served (or but for resignation, would have served) in that office for eight consecutive years.”

A constitutional amendment passed by Florida voters in 1992 prohibits incumbents who have held an office for eight consecutive years from running for re-election. But the language appearing on the ballot that year, according to Ballotpedia, specifically addressed “incumbents who have held the same elective office for the preceding eight years.”

Moreover, Mayfield’s petition said it has been well established practice for decades that individuals can run for an office from which they were term limited if there is a break in service. The suit specifically notes that former Rep. James Grant’s candidacy was challenged in 2018 but courts ruled that because of a break in his tenure over an election dispute, the clock had been reset on term limits for him holding his House seat.

That ruling declared that the State Department’s role was “purely ministerial” when it came to accepting qualifying paperwork.

Mayfield asked the court to state that Byrd’s office overstepped its authority and that her name should appear on an April 1 Special Republican Primary ballot. The winner of the Primary advances to a June 10 Special Election.

Mayfield served in the Florida Senate from 2016 to 2024 and could not seek re-election because of term limits. Her successor, Sen. Randy Fine, announced his resignation from the seat in order to run for Congress, opening his Senate seat. Notably, Mayfield already submitted an irrevocable resignation from her House District 32 seat, which she won last year, in order to run for the seat.

A Special Election for her House seat will be held concurrent with the Senate election. Mayfield did not file paperwork to run in the House race. The qualification deadline for both races has now passed.

216187438 Petition for Writ of Quo Warranto by Jacob Ogles on Scribd

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