The Florida Supreme Court recently upheld lower court rulings entered in favor of Orange County constitutional officers, including Property Appraiser Rick Singh, that the county’s amendment requiring the nonpartisan election of certain officers was contrary to the state constitution. Greenspoon Marder, the law firm which represented Singh in the lawsuit, announced the decision in a press release.
In 2014, the Orange County Board of Commissioners amended the county charter to require nonpartisan elections for six county constitutional officers, including property appraiser.
Three county officers – including Singh – filed a suit challenging the amendment. The trial court struck down the nonpartisan election requirement, ruling that Orange County was prohibited from requiring nonpartisan elections for county constitutional officers because the subject matter was pre-empted to the Legislature, the release said.
The county appealed to the Fifth District Court of Appeal and the Florida Supreme Court, losing each time.
In arguments before the Florida Supreme Court, Greenspoon Marder relied on provisions of the Florida Constitution prohibiting counties from acting contrary to state law, as well as a state law expressly pre-empting election procedures to the Legislature.
The Florida Supreme Court upheld the appellate court ruling by a 6-1 decision.
“This case, like most constitutional cases, involved narrow interpretations with broad impacts,” Greenspoon Marder attorney John H. Pelzer said in the release. “Here, the clash was between the values of local home rule and state-wide uniformity of election law. We are gratified with the decision.”