Geller files suit to seat Florida delegation

Sen. Steve Geller, D-Cooper City, filed a federal lawsuit today force the national Democratic Party to recognize the 1.75 million votes Floridians cast during the Jan. 29 primary and seat the state's delegation at the convention.

“I’m not sure why the DNC fears counting the full Florida vote, but perhaps they’ve forgotten the lessons of the 2000 election,” Geller (left) said. “The selection of the next Democratic presidential nominee, and indeed the next president, can’t be made by party insiders whimsically deciding which votes to count and which to suppress. Either we stand up for everyone, or we stand for no one. And I believe a federal judge will remind them of that.” (see the jump for Geller's news release) [AP Photo, files]

News release put out by Geller:

FT. LAUDERDALE , Fla . – Senate Democratic Leader Steven A. Geller ( D-Cooper City) on Thursday announced that he has filed suit in federal court to force the national Democratic Party to recognize the votes cast by 1.75 million Floridians during the January 29 presidential primary and seat the state’s delegation with full voting authority.  Geller is an uncommitted “super delegate.” There are two other plaintiffs, a Barack Obama delegate and a Hillary Clinton delegate.   

“This litigation addresses the view of Howard Dean and the Democratic National Committee that 1.75 million Democrats can be ignored at will,” said Geller. “We believe we’ve found a winning legal strategy that will once and for all force the DNC to not only obey its own rules but to listen to the voices of millions of Democrats in one of the most influential states in the nation.”

The lawsuit, a joint effort filed by Geller’s Fort Lauderdale-based law firm of Greenspoon Marder, Miami lawyer Benedict Kuehne, and Dan Stengle of Hopping Green & Sams in Tallahassee , was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. The litigation in particular outlines the rules which the DNC is obliged to follow but did not, along with certain U.S. Constitutional rights the veteran state lawmaker and party super delegate contends are being violated.

“Unlike the contested primary in Michigan , the names of all of the presidential candidates appeared on the Florida primary ballot, and Democrats here made their choice,” said Geller, who remains uncommitted in the race. “The purpose of this lawsuit is not to support one candidate over another; it’s to enforce one of the most basic tenets of our democracy: Count the votes as they were cast.”

The litigation takes aim at three essential issues:

1)       Before disqualifying all of Florida ’s delegates, the DNC under its own rules was obliged to conduct a thorough investigation of the events, and to consider “all provable positive steps” by state Democrats to prevent the primary date change. As Geller has repeatedly pointed out, the legislation moving the primary date in Florida was sponsored by Republicans, endorsed by the

2)       Republican leadership, passed by a Republican-dominated Legislature, and signed by a Republican governor who promised to veto any Democratic effort to change the primary date. Not only was it coupled with a measure establishing a verifiable paper trail – a top priority of the DNC – but an amendment sponsored by the Senate and House Democratic leadership to bring the primary date into compliance was soundly defeated by the Republicans. Despite this, the DNC stripped the state of its entire delegation, without first conducting a meaningful probe and without ever contacting the key Democratic lawmakers.

“This is likened to the famous Judge Roy Bean of the Old West.  We’re going to hang you, but we’re going to give you a fair trial first,” said Richard Epstein of Greenspoon Marder and lead counsel. “Except in this instance, we never got the trial.”

3)       Even though Iowa , New Hampshire and South Carolina also broke the same party rules by moving up their primaries, they were not sanctioned as Florida was, but were instead granted a waiver by the DNC from any such penalties. Failing to grant Florida the same dispensation violates the Constitution’s equal protection guarantee, the lawsuit contends.

4)       As the controversy unfolded, the DNC maintained that Florida should have held a post-primary Caucus and suggested establishing 120 polling places throughout the state. Doing so, Geller argued, likely would have resulted in only about 100,000 votes being counted, a tiny fraction of the 1.75 million voters who turned out in January, while at the same time, completely disenfranchising Florida Democrats in our country’s military serving outside of Florida .  The caucus the DNC tried to force upon Florida would hardly provide a representative sample of the millions who voted or the rich diversity of the state and would, as the DNC designed it, have been illegal. Such a move would have required Florida’s attorney general – another Republican – to seek from the U.S. Justice Department special permission called “pre-clearance” to change the method of this election, something likely to raise serious constitutional questions and unlikely to occur in time to actually conduct the caucus.  It is doubtful Florida would have received this pre-clearance in a timely fashion.

“I’m not sure why the DNC fears counting the full Florida vote, but perhaps they’ve forgotten the lessons of the 2000 election,” said Geller. “The selection of the next Democratic presidential nominee, and indeed the next president, can’t be made by party insiders whimsically deciding which votes to count and which to suppress. Either we stand up for everyone, or we stand for no one. And I believe a federal judge will remind them of that.”

Comments

[Bill]

Where was Geller when the primary date was being changed? Joking about it in the State Senate.

There are good reasons why we have term limits!

[Marty]

Where was all the outrage before the primary? Florida broke the rules, knew the consequences and didn't care. This is all a bunch of Hillary supporters who are trying to do her dirty work for her. Keep up all this fake hand wrining. I'm taking names and won't be voting for any of the people involved in these lawsuits.

Its Geller trying to cover his big behind for being sarcastic and giving the national party the finger. Now it came back to haunt him.

Can somebody post the transcript of the audio from the chamber that was presented at the rules meeting

[hunter]

As a Democrat I don't care if you want a free trip and party. The nominee is Mr. Obama. I plan to vote for him regardless of who goes to the convention. Stop being an idiot.

[John]

We've been here the whole time yelling what a sham this party is. Thanks Geller! Now make it count.

[Jack & Dianne]

Why don't the Democrats copy the Republicans and let the popular vote decide their winner, end the caucus and award all delegates to the winner.

Makes too much sense,right?

[John]

I will NOT vote for the Coranated One.

[Tallytowngal]

Obama will not be the Nominee, because the Party elders will not allow the Obama supporters to give this election to Sen. McCain. Which is exactly what will happen if he is our Nominee.

New Polls out today show that the likely hood of Obama winning the General Election is about ZERO!

Our only chance to win the WH in Nov. is the count all the votes in FL and MI and seat all the Delegates. This will still leave us with a brokered convention. Where, the pledged and super delegates will then all become free agents. All previous endorsments are out the window. And, the decission will be based on who is best suited to win against the Republicans in Nov.

Which, I would assume is the goal of all Democrats!

[JR]

Am I confused, or didn't the primary date movement pass with a unanimous vote?

[element80]

Whats the point? Obama is still going to win. This is all just a huge waste of time.

[tea party]

LIKE I SAID BEFORE
THIS IS TAXATION WITH OUT REPRESENTATION PEOPLE
WAKE UP!!!!!!!!

[Tallytowngal]

JR, the moving of FL's Primary date was an Amendment to a Bill making it mandatory for all electronic voting machines in FL to produce a paper reciept in order for a hand recount. The Minority Leader Sen. Geller argued against the amendment that was placed in the bill by the Republicans. He asked that the amendment be striped from the bill. But, was overruled in his arguement. The Bill was much needed to ensure that our elections were not going to be manipulated by the likes of Diebold, ES&S or Sequoria.

That's right Tallytowngirl...he "argued" for it's removal from the bill:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r25wUeMAwdE

Geller: "...So the Democratic leader and the Democratic leader pro tem are jointly making this motion, which we will duly show them later, that we tried not to have the election on, um, before (Feb. 5).

President: "And so Sen. Geller are you urging a negative vote or would you like us to pass this vote?"

Geller: "Oh no sir. We really, really want this. Don't we senator? (sarcasm and audible laughter in chamber).

[hunter]

tallytowngal
You are full of crap..poll indicated Obama was behind in Florida...ahead in Pa. Clinton is done...get on the O train.

Will I get to see your o-face on the o-train hunter?

[Tallytowngal]

"Republican John McCain leads Barack Obama in two presidential swing states, as some of Hillary Clinton's core supporters shun the Democratic front-runner, polls showed Thursday."

The Quinnipiac University surveys had McCain up 45 to 41 percent on the Illinois senator in Florida, the epicenter of the 2000 recount drama, which also helped President George W. Bush back to the White House in 2004.

In Ohio, another vital battleground that narrowly went for Bush last time around, McCain leads Obama 44 percent to 40 percent.

Obama however leads McCain in Pennsylvania, by 46 to 40 percent. The state is a must-win for Democrats eyeing the White House.

http://rawstory.com/news/afp/McCain_leads_Obama_in_two_battlegro_05222008.html

tallytowngal, or anyone with the truth - is there anything the DEM minority could have done to stop the bill in question from passing? Given the GOP majority, did they need the DEM votes to get it passed?

Thanks!

Florida: Clinton Beats McCain, McCain Beats Obama

Clinton: 48%
McCain: 41%

Obama: 41%
McCain: 45%

Ohio: Clinton Beats McCain, McCain Beats Obama

Clinton: 48%
McCain: 41%

Obama: 40%
McCain: 44%

Pennsylvania: Clinton, Obama Beat McCain

Clinton: 50%
McCain: 37%

Obama: 46%
McCain: 40%

[corage]

THE PEOPLE IN MI AND FL VOTED. DNC CANNOT DENY THE VOTES OF 2MM PEOPLE. COUNT THE VOTES.

[Jimmy]

Clinton would lie to a baby to steal it's candy.

She signed pledges backing the stripping of FL delegates. It's only because she lost that she is making a big stink about FL today.

She is a Sore Loser and not fit to run a hot dog stand.

[Voter]

If Hillary was smart she would change to independent so both can be on the ticket.

[Emme]

Change the rules because you don't like them.That's the Dems.Remember the male Clinton pardoning all the criminals as his last great act?

[ainnj]

Regardless of which candidate you prefer, the fact is if the DNC does not seat 100% of the votes in Florida they will, in effect, be guaranteeing that John McCain will be the next President of the United States.

We can only hope that the DNC is more concerned about the welfare of this country and the continuing viability of the Democratic Party rather than just about appeasing certain factions therein.

[Dawn]

What difference does it make you CANNOT ignore 1.7 million votes. period. If Rosa Parks obeyed WRONG and IMMORAL rules where would we be today, still stitting in the back of the bus.

[terminator]

Geller's a big fat hasbeen. He's term limited out, has no political juice and is fading fast.
He's given the state a failing economy, higher property taxes, skyrocketing property insurance, has cut school funding at the K-12, CC and SUS levels.
Bye bye Senator Geller. Don't let the door hit you on the *ss on the way out!

Ps And yes, he and every D in the state legislature except for Jack Seilor (D-Wilton Manors) voted in favor of moving the primary date. This is just Geller trying to stay "relevant".

Dawn,

Just remember which party created WRONG and IMMORAL rules (Democrats), and which party freed the slaves and integrated schools (GOP)

Clinton Support are cry babies, even if florida is count she would still close. she agree on consequences if Florida broke the rules,and she didn't care. now what!!!!!!

[Jean Baker]

It's about time somebody picked up the torch, and start the ball rolling. You cannot deprive two states their right to vote, the laws are made and enacted by WE THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE AND FOR THE PEOPLE!!!!!!

Do not sit back and let the rich hijack our country, we have rights, and they are trying to take them away. We cannot afford another Republican run White House, can you afford to pay over $5.00 or more for gas, and fuel, can you afford to keep paying high food prices to feed your family, can you afford the high rent or mortgages?????

Think about it people, this is not a game, of who will win, this is OUR LIVES, OUR COUNTRY, OUR FAMILIES!!!!!

We cannot let the best candidate in a long time who really, really cares about us, and is trying to do everything in her power, to right the wrong that's be done to us, and you are just trying to throw her away. You should hang your head in shame, how you're doing a former FIRST LADY AND SENATOR.

hillaryspeaksforme.com, >>>> ALL THE WAY!!!

terminator - I realize the vote for this bill was nearly unanimous, but if the DEMs had all voted against it, would that have stopped it's passing?

[Omega83]

3:07 it may not have prevented its passage, but it would have made the Democrats case 100x stronger.

Paper trail ballots? Look, I understand the (paranoid) concerns of Diebold, but it's not like the vast majority of the machines were malfunctioning.

And wasn't it Democrats who insisted on voting machines after the 2000 election?

Democrats lose this debate all the way around because they tried to have their cake and eat it too, and the GOP called them on it.

Omega83 - are you telling me that even if the DEMs all voted against the bill, it would still have passed? sorry, but you said "may not" have prevented.

3:16

what I am saying is the bill would have passed regardless. However, had the Democrats taken a stand and voted no, perhaps the DNC may have been a little more flexible in their sanctions.

Instead, Florida D's thumbed their noses at their own party, and now cry when they don't like the result.

[Ty Walker]

Geller and Clinton supporters missed thier argument when the legistators changed the primary election dates. Lack of organization planning is the reason thier playing catch, what Clinton do as a president if she can't handle her campaign or honor her pledge she signed regardin FL & MI. Stop playing games and take time to understand the rules.

[Jack]

Ok, so who cares, seat the delgates, but you can only seat them 50/50 for each candidate, so is it really worth all the complaining? Oh... you want the votes to count for Hillary, since she won the vote in FL, even though they both agreed not to campaign in FL? Obama's supporters are higher-educated, they knew their vote didn't count, so they didn't waste their time. Hillary's uneducated "blue-collar" supporters probably didn't have a clue what was going on. QUIT WHINING!

3:22 Thanks.

Now what about the voting machine changes? If the Dems had all voted no, the voting machine changes would have become law regardless, or were the voting machine changes appended to the bill contingent on the dems agreeing to voting yes?

Obama has the momentum, and Obama will be the nominee.

[Buzzard]

DANG...I was just starting to like Obama and then you go and remind me that he's a democrat.

3:39

sacrifice the machine vote for the sake of your delegates.

Which was ultimately more important?

Tally,

Do you really believe in these polls? How often are they wrong? Do you know how the data is collected and their +/- margin? What is their success rate in predicting outcomes?

You act like they are infallible. They are nothing but marketing material that Rep are known to use in their disinformation campaigns.

Check out intrade which is proven to be more accurate than any polls. They have Dems winning Penn and Ohio regardless of candidates. Losing Florida. They also have the odds of Obama winning election over McCain at 57.7% to 38.5%. Republican chances are about the same regardless of the candidates.

Are you really going to believe Rove and his phoney polls? They are publishing these now because they know who the Dems candidate is going to be and they're trying to keep Clinton backers from backing Obama. Seems to be working with you.

I predict that there will be a Brokered Convention. Which is exactly what the Party needs. So much is coming out about Obamas electablity, that we need to look to those who are more adept at choosing who will be the BEST GENERAL ELECTION CANDIDATE FOR THE PARTY!

This election is too important to put a weak candidate on the ballot, that stands little to no chance of winning.

[Jeff]

This lawsuit proves that Rush Limbaugh is a genius, way ahead of Karl Rove, the late Attwater and all other Republcian strategists put together. Limbaugh boasts each day about having operation "Chaos," his plan to divide the Democratic party.

Chaos has a two part plan:
a. To get Democrats from Michigan and Florida to continue the fight to have their delegates seated. This lawsuit follows that script,guaranteeing that this party division will continue to dominate the news.

b. Second part of Chaos is to get women to agitate on behalf of Senator Clinton on the premise that her candidacy is a fight for all women. If she fails to win the nomination, women equality would have been dealt a permanent set back. I am waiting for sit ins and lawsuits by "Democratic" women.

[Robin]

I think they should either not count Florida votes or split the Dem. votes 50/50 or do a re-vote. Millions of people didn't vote because they thought they wouldn't count.

It' very simple.

[Dr_Dug]

Who cares about this crap anyway....? The Democraps will not get the white House. In fact, how could you elect a party that can't get the election right or decides not to count votes? If you think George Bush was bad....imagine having no vote!! The Democraps are a joke! (Maybe they should get John Kerry to hold another town meeting)

Disgusting, isn't it Jeff, that one of our political parties is so intent on winning that they would resort to tactics like that. Not too much different from some 3rd world dictatorship with rigged elections and media manipulation. Regardless of whether you're a DEM or a GOP, this trend should worry you. Be sure to remember that it is scum like Rove, Norquist, Gingrich, etc who have lowered our election process to this level. Limbaugh is beneath contempt but that a different issue.

[Pat]

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/rezko/353829,CST-NWS-rez23.stng

Rezko's houses

[R]

The 2 party system - THAT is what's wrong. There should be at LEAST 3 VIABLE parties.

[Not Rich]

Here's a much simpler strategy that the Repulicans seem to be following: Reduce the quality of campaigning to such a low level that decent people turn away in disgust and only Republicans are left to vote.

[Dr_Dug]

Voting for a Democrap is voting for no voice, no vote and and a joke of a party. Elections are simple...running the country isn't.....No more Democraps in the White House!!!

[lk]

Dr_Dung. What makes you think you have any voice as a republican? Running the country is not simple. The simpleton in the White House proved that.

4:30

and Huffington, DailyKos, Michael Moore, NBC News and others ONLY say and publish things that are 100% truthful.

Spare me your whining. Politics is war. You fight wars to win. If you want to cry about it, take your ball and go home now and leave it to the rest of us to hammer it all out.