| Florida 22nd District |
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FL-22: More on Stork / Rorapaugh
by willyr Oct 15th, 2004 It's still uncertain whether a new casndidate will be on the ballot to replace Jim Stork. Miami Herald:
Broward weighs its options if election lineup changes
BY ROBERTO SANTIAGO rsantiago@herald.com As the state Division of Elections continued its fight Wednesday to keep Jim Stork on the Nov. 2 ballot, Broward officials considered what they would do if the state loses. The prospect of having to reprint and mail thousands of corrected absentee ballots and reprogram voting machines is unappealing, to say the least. In motions filed with the Florida Supreme Court and the District Court of Appeals, the state sought to reinstate a legal stay that would prevent a new Democratic challenger from entering the race to oppose Republican E. Clay Shaw less than three weeks before the general election. On Tuesday, a Leon County judge cleared the way for Democrats to name Robin Rorapaugh, 44, of Hollywood to replace Stork in U.S. House District 22. He dropped out of the race due to health issues, nine days after the deadline. ''We are confident the case will be heard quickly,'' said Alia Faraj, a spokeswoman for the Division of Elections. Broward Deputy Secretary of Elections Gisela Salas said that Broward and Palm Beach have their own attorneys supporting the state's appeal. ''A new candidate on the ballot would disrupt the entire general election for Broward County. You'd have to start it from scratch,'' Salas said. ``The testing of the electronic machines takes place on Friday. Absentee and overseas ballots have already been mailed. We have already received a number of ballots back. It would be impossible to re-code the machines and reprint ballots in time for Nov. 2.'' Salas said she could not even estimate how much it would cost to attempt such an endeavor, but she said there were other options. ``Signs could be placed at the polls and mailings could be done indicating that a vote for Jim Stork counts as a vote for Robin Rorapaugh, if that were ordered by a court.'' Florida 22nd District :: Entry Link :: Comment |
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FL-22: Stork to remain on ballot
by PeteyP Oct 1st, 2004 Jim Stork, the Democrat challenging incumbent Clay Shaw in Florida's swing 22nd district, will remain on the ballot in November. Stork withdrew from the race in late September after medical testing revealed what his campaign described as a heart-related condition requiring rest. Having raised over $1 million for the race, Stork was the Democrats' best hope in several election cycles of toppling 12-term incumbent Clay Shaw. According to Roll Call Online, Florida election officials have decided that Stork must remain on the ballot because he informed the Division of Elections of his decision to withdraw nine days after the Sept. 15 deadline for withdrawing. Democrats had sought to replace Stork's name with another candidate. |
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FL-22: The Gerrymandered GOP
by Jerome Armstrong Jun 12th, 2004 The 22d Congressional District covers most of the Atlantic oceanfront in Palm Beach and Broward counties, from Juno Beach in Palm Beach County to Fort Lauderdale in Broward County. It is rarely more than a few miles wide and in some places it is not much wider than the barrier islands separated from the mainland by the Indian River and Lake Worth. But it also has jagged salients that extend several miles inland. The district, a testament to the advances made in redistricting software, was drawn by Republican redistricters to provide a safe seat for Republican Congressman Clay Shaw after he barely won reelection in 2000. The Miami-Dade County portion of the district was removed, as was heavily Democratic Hollywood in Broward County. Inland salients in Broward County brought in Republican precincts in Plantation and Coral Springs. Much new territory was added in Palm Beach County--an inland finger in wealthy Boca Raton, a long strand parallel to the oceanfront of affluent areas from Delray Beach to Glen Ridge (here the 22d surrounds the heavily black 23d district on three sides) and an inland slice in north Palm Beach County including parts of Palm Beach Gardens and Jupiter. Redistricting raised the Bush 2000 percentage in the 22d District from 39% to 48%--the biggest increase in any Florida district. The resulting district is affluent, elderly, with a large Jewish population politically very active in condominium groups. (National Journal Almanac, 2003) |
