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

[Dr_Dug]

lk...your an assclown! I voted and a canidate was chosen..simple. You Democraps voted and your own party takes it away...breaking its own rules! If you morons can't get the election right,stop taking away voter rights or scewing everything up. And Assclown...if you noticed, or can even read.....I stated the Country isn't easy to run, and morons like you will screw it up too. Idiot assclown!!

[Dr_Dug]

Didn't the Dems. cry about the last election too? Didn't they complain it was because of the count? Every election they seem to have problems! They have controlled the Govenment for a few years now and look what has happened...high taxes, high gas, home foreclosures,illegals.....
Bill Clinton showed us all what Democraps think about the White House.....or white stuff on young womens mouths! Class act!!!

[JM]

I am so sick of hearing about these votes.What don't you stupid idiotic Democrats understand !!You broke the rules.You have to pay the price you idiots.Its just like a person robbing a store.He broke the rules and has to pay the price.I hope the lawsuit gets thrown out of court.It is open and shut to me.Gellar listen up your idiot party broke the rules.They knew it going in so suffer the outcome.And Gellar i hope you are paying for this lawsuit out of your pocket and not the taxpayers.What did Slick Hilly promise you if you started this lawsuit.What a disgrace the Dems are,another tainted election and who is behind it again good old Florida DEMS.

[Tish]

I am a Democrat from Florida and I am outraged about Senator Geller. He really thinks he's speaking for all democrats of Fl. well he's NOT!!! I want to say how convenient for the senator to stand up now!! Where was he when the DNC was trying to sort the rules for the Primary dates?? Why didn't he go to the Florida Courts then?? Senator Geller said he hasn't endorsed anyone, but he wants our votes to count now. Seems like he's made up his mind who he would endorse. I really believe FL didn't think a Black Male had a chance to be President of the United States, so they let the DNC rule however. I want to say Senator Geller, you need to play by the rules of the DNC. Just like Clinton and Obama. Stop wasting our time in Florida. We all were aware in Florida that our vote wouldn't count during the primaries, but somehow Clinton told her supporters they would count if they would vote for her in Florida Primaries. I feel Senator Clinton shouldn't be president because she already shows that she's a lier and she threatens her own party if she wouldn't be the nominee. What kind of president would she be, if she's acting like this now and she's not even a front runner!! I would rather vote for Ron Paul!!

Disappointed Florida Resident!!

[Libertarian Observer]

Well, let's see, Florida messed up and got the non-winner in the White House in 2000. Messed up the Congressional election in Sarasota County last time and the old boy Republican school sent the non-winner to Congress. Now the Dems do this.

Since both the Repubs and Dems have proven their incompetence in running elections, maybe some outside help is appropriate. Wonder if the UN would take the job?

[R]

Good luck, Dean has already decided who the DNC candidate will be. I'm sure Dean is already on Obama's short list for VP.

Good luck in the "Common Man's" party. It's changed a bit, elitist and Hollywood driven, devoid of common sense. Just read about Obama's foreign policy statements to get a feel for the DNC position. Maybe a stroll down spiritual guide lane with Jeremiah Wright... All in all, quite childish foreign policy and more than scary with respect to Wright.

[JodiB]

With many other Americans who voted for Hillary Clinton for Nominee for the Democratic Party, I will Write-In Hillary Clinton on my General Election Ballot if she registers with the state of California to be counted. If she does not, I will vote for McCain.
You can too. Search Petition Write-In, Vote No Obama.

[The Ghost of Richard Nixon]

All of you right-wingers make even ME embarrassed. The Republicans used to stand for something; now all you are, are "nattering nabobs of negativity," as it were.

Politics is war and the Republicans have declared war on the Constitution and war on the Middle Class. If we don't get out and vote DEM, we deserve 4 more years of totalitarian rule.

Is that what you were trying to say, 5:09?

[Dr_Dug]

The Ghost of Richard Nixon.........
Your all LOSERS..........so....................BOO HOO HOO
and HaHaHaHaHaHa

HEY GELLER; AND THE REST OF YOU USELESS POLITICAL PANDERING HILLARY HACK PIMPS!

WHERE WERE YOU IN JANUARY?
WHERE WERE YOUR PRESS CONFERENCES DENOUNCING THIS UP FRONT?
WHY DIDIN’T YOU STOP IT?
WHY DIDN’T YOU STAND UP IN JANUARY?
WHY NOW?

Oh, that’s right… you thought Hillary was a lock. If you didn’t stand up then, you have no right to stand up now… so sit you biga_s down and shut the hell up!

[JMorgan]

There are 4.2 million registered Democrats in Florida, of which 1.7 million voted. Florida Democrats were told that "this election isn't going to count" and so they didn't vote.

How does Geller explain disenfranchising 2.5 million Democrats who believed that by his agreeing with Republicans in the Florida legislature to move up the primary and make their votes ineligible for counting by the national Democrats, Florida's Democratic politicians were duping their constituents who weren't for Hillary Clinton?

[Gina]

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/5/22/0226/35614/632/520082
Go there to see how Geller is responsible for what happened in Florida.