Tavares, FL June 20, 2014
(this was sent out as an email to our subscribers also)
At 6:03 pm tonight, the FL Elections Dept completed all their processing and there were only five Republicans in the FL House District 31 race and no Dems, NPA or Write-ins ("WRI") thus it means Lake Sentinel's Lauren Ritchie will be happy because Democrats and others can vote in the August primaries for REPUBLICANS. Thus if Lauren directs them to vote for one candidate, the others will split the remaining vote and it is possible a closet Democrat registered as a Republican will win or be one of the top two candidates for the final Nov. general election.
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Original article
Today at noon, it is my understanding that if a Democrat or write-in candidate does not turn in all required paperwork, or fees, for the Florida House District 31 race, then the race will be “open” and Democrats and all other voters in Lake County can vote in the Republican primary. Liberal Orlando Sentinel columnist Lauren Ritchie will be ecstatic.
I just confirmed with Lake County Elections Supervisor, Emogene Stegall, that if there is “no opposition” (like a Democrat or write-in candidate) and all candidates are from one party, the election becomes a “universal election” and all voters of any party can vote for the Republicans.
Five Republicans are running for Florida House District 31, which covers parts of Orange and Lake Counties, including Apopka, Mt. Dora, Tavares & Eustis.
Some of them have been running and going to events and walking doors for over a year.
Those Republican candidates include: Jennifer Sullivan, Randy Glisson, Joseph Stephens, Terri Seefeldt and B. Grassel. You can watch my video of their most recent candidate forum this week HERE.
The are all trying to replace incumbent Bryan Nelson who is termed out.
And, there is a single Democrat candidate, Jake Seymour, but he has not filed the required petition cards or fees to be a “qualified” candidate as of 8:30 am today.
The deadline for District 31 candidates to file all paperwork, fees and / or petition cards is TODAY at noon.
The rub is that if Seymour does not file, and no other Democrat files, and No write – in candidate files as a candidate, there are only Republicans on the ballot, and the race then becomes open. That means DEMOCRATS can vote in the primary for the Republican of their choice, which can really change the dynamics of the race.
That is what Lake Sentinel columnist Lauren Ritchie wants. She wants Democrats to skew the race towards who she and Democrats like. That might be tough, but methinks we might have a RINO on the ballot (Republican in Name Only) who actually wants that to happen.
I contacted several Republicans about this issue earlier this week and pointed out the risk, and will not know until noon today if any of them took the threat seriously. I think this was the plan all along by the Lake County Democrats to fake a District 31 candidate who then pulls out at the last minute (by not paying the fees or providing final paperwork), changing the ballot to an open ballot. They hope the Republicans would overlook this issue until too late.
So, if Republicans don’t act by noon (in Tallahassee) and file a write in candidate, and the Democrat drops out, both Democrats and Republicans can view my just uploaded video of the recent Republican forum of the five candidates for District 31 (which, again, is HERE) .
Aren’t politics fun in Lake County? Will Lauren Ritchie call the shots by crowning her choice for the liberals? Or will someone file as a write-in candidate at the last minute to “close” the ballot so only Republicans can vote for Republicans in the primary. If so, look for a Ritchie rant. She did not write a column today, so maybe she is waiting for the noon deadline like I am. Here is Lauren’s page on the website so you can see what she writes next.
Here is the Florida State elections page for Candidate details – you might have to enter “Lake” as the County, and “State Representative” for the “Office”, and “Senate and House” for “Group” to see the list and filing status of all the District 31 candidates. Right now, four District 31 candidates have completed all filings and are “Qualified” for the ballot, and Joseph Stephens and Democrat Jake Seymour have not.
Vance Jochim
Lake County Fiscal Rangers
Chief Fiscal Watchdog
Volunteers Searching for Ways to Improve Local Government Fiscal Management, Efficiency & Effectiveness
Tavares, FL 32778 (Lake County)