A Tallahassee judge has dismissed a lawsuit seeking to remove Congressman Cory Mills from the August ballot over a clerical issue, Politico has reported.
Read more Orlando Pride travel to Utah, aim to rebound from shutout loss
One of Mills’ Republican opponents in the Congressional District 7 primary, Michael Johnson, claimed Mills did not sign a key election document that also was not properly notarized.
The suit is one of the first tests of a new law passed months ago by the Florida Legislature designed to create a process for questioning a candidate’s eligibility, Politico reported.
In a hearing in Tallahassee on Friday, Circuit Court Judge J. Lee Marsh sided with attorneys for Mills, who argued the new law focuses on eligibility qualifications such as age and residency, not whether the candidate followed the correct process to get on the ballot, the news site said. And Marsh pointed out during the hearing that election officials had accepted Mills’ paperwork and had qualified him. The judge also suggested that the arguments used by Johnson’s lawyers could prompt a lot of new lawsuits against candidates.
One of Johnson’s attorneys, Lake County Commissioner and former state representative Anthony Sabatini, said Johnson likely will appeal the decision.
The suit claims the congressman was in the U.S. Capitol on June 4, the day a form declaring Mills’ candidacy in the Central Florida district was signed by Mills and notarized by Alejandro Blair, the chief of staff for Florida Congressman Greg Stuebe. Mills was present on the House floor just after 6 p.m. that day, according to voting records submitted with the suit.
Read more UCF position preview: Jayden Bellamy, Antione Jackson help strengthen cornerbacks’ unit
Blair indicated on the form that Mills presented his driver’s license as a form of identification. But the suit alleges Mills was not physically present when Blair notarized the form, which indicates it was signed in Sarasota County. The suit alleges Mills never signed the form, and that his signature was added by “autopen, mechanical signature device, or other non-personal means.”
And though Blair used his Florida notary stamp on the form, he was in D.C. at the time he notarized the form, according to the suit. He was authorized to perform the service in Florida but not in the nation’s capital, it said.
Mills’ time in Congress has been marred by controversy: He is the subject of a House ethics investigation and has been accused of misrepresenting his military record, engaging in unethical business dealings, assaulting a girlfriend and stalking an ex-girlfriend. Colleagues from both sides of the aisle have called on the 45-year-old congressman to resign. He has denied any wrongdoing.
Mills, who is seeking is seeking his third term in office, is to face Johnson and two other opponents, Ryan Elijah and Sarah Ulrich, during the August primary to represent the red-leaning district, which includes all of Seminole County and part of Volusia County.
Read more Florida’s monthly jobless rate drops for first time since 2024