ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Three prominent Orange County figures have filed a lawsuit against a proposed charter amendment that would change term limits and make county races nonpartisan.
Amendment D will be on the November 4 ballot and Orange County voters will decide on the two issues in one vote.
The proposed ballot amendment states elections for all charter offices elected countywide shall be held in 2016 and every four years thereafter. It also seeks to make those elections non-partisan.
But now Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings, Tax Collector Scott Randolph and Property Appraiser Rick Singh, all Democrats, have joined together to file a lawsuit that seeks to block certification of the vote.
"They're saying now, rather late in the game, that the amendment violates the two subject requirement of Florida law," said WFTV political analyst Rick Foglesong.
The lawsuit, which is more than 300 pages long, cites more than 100 reasons why the vote should not be certified until a judge decides if it's even legal.
But for some early voters in Orange County, their ballot has already been submitted with a vote on the charter amendment.
"The courts are reluctant to stop a vote or declare a question already on the ballot is somehow invalid," said Foglesong.
The lawsuit was filed Friday in Orange County and it's unclear if a hearing has been scheduled in the case.
Singh released a statement defending the lawsuit:
"This is not about the individual Constitutional officers, but rather it is about the integrity of the offices and the process. The Orange Board of County Commissioners had agreed that non-partisan elections and term limits were two separate issues. They are still two separate issues. What happened at the 11th hour that caused them to change their minds? It's puzzling. Furthermore, Florida law prohibits the manner in which this amendment is being presented. The voters have a right to choose how they'll vote but only after full disclosure and fairness in the way the amendment is presented."