"A vote for former U.S. Rep. Mark Foley is a vote for his Republican replacement Joe Negron" has a nice ring to it. Pass it on.
Democrats protest plan to place signs at polls
Officials consider clarifying confusion over new candidate.
By Joel Hood
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
October 4, 2006
Election officials at state and local levels are considering posting signs in polling places and including material in absentee ballots throughout the 16th Congressional District clarifying that a vote for former U.S. Rep. Mark Foley is a vote for his Republican replacement Joe Negron.
Negron supports the idea but his opponent, Democrat Tim Mahoney, as well as some legal experts, are crying foul, saying this would give the Republican an unfair advantage in a race already overshadowed by controversy and turmoil.
"If that sign is permitted, we're going to fight it," said Wahid Mahmood, chairman of the Democratic Party in Palm Beach County. "It's not fair to other candidates; it's a campaign slogan."
Sterling Ivey, spokesman for the Florida Division of Elections, said state law does not prohibit such signs from being posted at polling places in an effort to clear up confusion for voters. He said election officials are looking into doing the same thing in the state House District 61 race on the west coast, where incumbent Ken Littlefield abruptly dropped his re-election bid after being appointed to the state Public Service Commission.
Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Arthur Anderson said he liked the idea of signs and didn't think they would put the Palm Beach Gardens businessman at a disadvantage.
"Oftentimes people don't read signage at polling places," Anderson said. "I don't think it would necessarily do anything to Mahoney."
But Mahoney's campaign spokeswoman, Jessica Santillo, said, "It is our understanding that the Florida Department of State is attempting to engage in prohibited electioneering. The people of Florida deserve a fair election."
Republicans on Monday chose Negron, a state representative from Stuart, to run in place of Foley in the 16th District race. Foley, a six-term incumbent, abruptly resigned from Congress and abandoned his re-election bid Friday after being confronted with sexually explicit Internet messages he sent to teenage boys working as congressional pages.
Negron's campaign got off to a slow start Tuesday. He was an alternate juror on a capital murder case in Martin County until a judge dismissed him from duties around noon. A fiscal conservative and former House budget chairman, Negron was later interviewed by MSNBC's Chris Matthews and Rita Crosby. He had an evening meeting planned with staff to go over campaign tactics and said he would travel the district by car today.
Because Foley pulled out of the race after the primary election results were certified, it will be his name, not Negron's, on the Nov. 7 ballot. Political experts say that presents a problem for Negron, 45, who in the five weeks before Election Day is expected to try to distance himself from the Foley scandal.
The state law on printed ballots was adopted, in part, to clear up voter confusion by creating uniform ballots across district lines, Ivey said. It's also a practical and cost-saving move for counties, which do not have to tear up printed ballots carrying the old candidate's name, Anderson said.
However, constitutional law experts at Florida Atlantic University and the University of Florida argue that signs could be construed as campaign material, and therefore in violation of state law.
"It sounds problematic to me," said Joseph Little, a constitutional law professor at UF. "It touches on campaigning ... and that would be entirely inappropriate. I don't think it should be the business of government to be making those decisions."
Maryland recently amended its election laws after a state appellate court ruled that signs could be used at polling locations to aid voters.
Anderson said he sees parallels to this congressional race.
"You have to think about what's best for the voters," he said. "This is already a complicated situation."
Joel Hood can be reached at jhood@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6611.
Copyright © 2006, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
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