TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A group of voters has filed a federal lawsuit against Secretary of State Ken Detzner and 15 county elections supervisors seeking to ensure that digital ballot images are preserved from the Nov. 6 elections.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in U.S. district court in Tallahassee, alleges that some supervisors are not preserving digital ballot images created by voting machines as required by law.
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“As a result of defendants’ failure to comply with federal and state law requiring the preservation of all election materials for 22 months, digital ballot images used for tabulating votes and possible post-election adjudication are in the process of being destroyed and overwritten following the November 6, 2018 general election for federal offices in Florida,” said the lawsuit filed by eight voters in Pinellas, Seminole, Sarasota, Citrus, Volusia and Broward counties.
The lawsuit is part of a flurry of cases filed in recent days as recounts continue in the races for U.S. Senate, governor, agriculture commissioner and three legislative seats.
In addition to Detzner, the defendants in the case are Maria Matthews, the director of the state Division of Elections, and supervisors in Pinellas, Seminole, Citrus, Brevard, Clay, Lake, St. Johns, Duval, Lee, Martin, Hillsborough, Orange, Pasco, St. Lucie and Monroe counties.
As of early Wednesday evening, the defendants had not filed a response to the lawsuit, according to an online docket.