A Florida judge ruled Tuesday that an Alachua County ballot measure seeking to restore at-large voting for county commissioners is “unlawful.”
The ballot measure, proposed by the Alachua County Board of County Commissioners in April, seeks to return Alachua County’s voting system to at-large elections, reversing the 2022 voter-approved transition to single-member districts.
Alachua County’s previous at-large election system allowed voters to vote for any candidate, not just those in a specific district. In single-member districts, voters in a particular district are only able to vote for a candidate from that district. A majority of Florida’s 67 counties currently have an at-large voting system, according to the Florida Association of Counties.
Circuit Judge Olin Shinholser’s order came in response to an emergency petition filed by attorney Jeff Childers Sept. 24 on behalf of State Sen. Keith Perry and three other petitioners.
Childers said he and his clients feel gratified and are “beyond happy” with the decision.
“In my view, the message is that this isn’t really how government is supposed to work,” Childers said, adding the county commissioners were “elected to carry out the will of the voters, not tell the voters what their will should be.”
Alachua County Communications Director Mark Sexton said “nothing has changed for the voters on this issue.”
“The injunction was denied,” he said. “The question remains on the November 2024 ballot. The votes will be counted and certified, and the voters will decide on this issue. Alachua County is appealing the portion of the ruling regarding the ballot language to ensure the will of the voters is respected during the election of 2026."
Lizabeth Ann Doebler is running against incumbent Commissioner Mary Alford in the Alachua County Commissioner District 1 race. She said she is “totally against” reversing the shift to single-member districts.
“I love single-member districts,” Doebler said, adding that they work because a commissioner understands what is going on in their respective district and can better advocate for its interests.
Alford did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday afternoon.
The emergency petition filed by Childers also included a request for an injunction to prevent the measure from appearing on the ballot, which the court denied, citing evidence that the ballots had already been printed.
Aaron Klein, director of communications and outreach at the Alachua County Supervisor of Elections office, said they are “moving forward with [the ballots] without any of those judicially decided changes.”
However, the court stated in its order that any resulting vote would have no legal impact.
