On another subject, the Florida judge has ruled that Harris's decision stands. As I stated previously, the Florida Statute is actually fairly clear, and states that counts "shall" be certified by 7 days, implying a mandatory deadline. It also states that the Secretary of State "may" accept late counts, implying that she has discretion in deciding of rules for when to accept them and when not to. Under normal administrative law, when an administrator has a discretionary power, an exercise of that discretion will very rarely be overturned by the courts unless it is blatantly wrong. Since she and here staff made a concerted effort to establish a system of rules for deciding when late returns could be accepted, it would be surprising from a legal standpoint if her discretion were overturned, though not from a political standpoint. I note further that staying consistent with the recent ruling of the Supreme Court, this judge gave no reason for his opinion, making it harder to overturn, and his order just said that the plaintiff's motion was denied. Next stop, Supreme Court. Will legal principals prevail, or political affiliation?
Carl |
