Election Changes Eyed as 2018 Results Finalized

Election Changes Eyed as 2018 Results Finalized

By Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — After months of mudslinging, weeks of court wrangling and days of ballot counting that again landed Florida in an unwelcome national spotlight, a state panel matter-of-factly finalized the 2018 election results in a five-minute meeting Tuesday. The certification came on time, but problems with other […]

Ballot Signatures Battle Draws Judge’s Ire

Ballot Signatures Battle Draws Judge’s Ire

By Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — With seven election-related lawsuits pending, a federal judge clashed Wednesday with lawyers for state officials, national Republicans and U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson’s campaign in a case about whether voters whose ballot signatures don’t match those on file should be able to “cure” the ballots. “I’m […]

Bondi Rips FDLE Over Elections Investigation

Bondi Rips FDLE Over Elections Investigation

By Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — In an unusual move, Attorney General Pam Bondi on Sunday publicly criticized Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Rick Swearingen for not pursuing an investigation into alleged irregularities in the handling of election ballots in Broward and Palm Beach counties. Bondi’s office released a two-page […]

University Performance Funding Set for Changes

University Performance Funding Set for Changes

By Lloyd Dunkelberger, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Florida university leaders want to revise the system’s performance-funding model, looking to eliminate a dreaded “bottom three” that annually denies state money to the lowest-performing schools. In this academic year, Florida A&M University, the University of North Florida and New College of Florida missed out […]

Caldwell, Fried Square Off to Replace Putnam

Caldwell, Fried Square Off to Replace Putnam

By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — A state lawmaker from North Fort Myers who is a real-estate appraiser and an attorney from Fort Lauderdale who lobbies for the medical-marijuana industry are competing in next month’s election to replace term-limited Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam. Unlike candidates in races for other Cabinet […]