Q&A of the Day –How should Florida list candidates on our ballots?
Each day I’ll feature a listener question that’s been submitted by one of these methods.
Email: brianmudd@iheartmedia.com
Twitter: @brianmuddradio
Facebook: Brian Mudd https://www.facebook.com/brian.mudd1
Today’s entry...
Hey Brian, Really like your shows. Relatively new to FL, I'm glad I found you and (go Rush and Sean). I am a Penn State Grad and ran for the Board of Trustees when the whole Joe Paterno incident happened. That year there were about 40 candidates for 3 seats. The University determined ballot position by lottery. Imagine putting balls (like the lottery) into a tumbler. Each ball would have a number that referenced a candidate. The drawings would determine the ballot positions. It worked for PSU and I think it can work for any election.Just a thought.
Bottom Line: It’s a good thought. On Monday I brought you the details of a court ruling issued last Friday striking down Florida’s ballot order law as prejudicial. While the DeSantis administration intends to appeal the decision, we’re left with having to prepare a new plan to prioritize the way candidates are listed on ballots. The law, established in 1951, states that the governor’s party would be listed first on ballots. So, how do we do it? Maybe the lottery idea is a good one? Here's how we got here...
Under Article 1 Section 4 of the US Constitution, it’s up to the states how they handle their ballots. There are six other states that list candidates as Florida has since 1951, making it one of the more broadly adopted methods. As an aside, the US District Court ruling doesn’t impact those other states, but you might imagine there may be additional legal challenges in the future given what just happened in Florida. I found thirteen different methods used across the fifty states. The lottery method is one of the more common. There are seven states that do some form of lottery in determining the order of candidates on ballots.. There’s one thing that all states have in common. There’s always someone listed first.
The issue I have with Judge Mark Walker’s ruling, is his statement that the candidate listed first has an unfair advantage. I don’t see, even if true, how you’re supposed to address that issue? There will always be advantaged, and disadvantaged candidates based on that logic. Therefore, how could any ballot that lists candidates be legal/constitutional? It’s for that reason that I think the DeSantis administration appeal has a good chance of winning. If it does come down to having to find a new method however, the lottery system is as widely used as any other method – even if it doesn’t address Justice Walker’s concerns specific concerns (not that I’m sure anything would).