Deborah Cooney
Candidate for Sheriff of Indian River County
P O Box 700013
Wabasso, FL 32970
cooneyforsheriff@mail.com
July 13, 2020
Governor Ron DeSantis
State of Florida
The Capitol
400 S. Monroe St.
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001
Dear Governor DeSantis,
I am following up on the enclosed letter sent on May 14, 2020 requesting an extension of the May 11 deadline for candidate petitions or in the alternative, a waiver of the filing fee. I am still awaiting your response. Please respond at your earliest convenience.
My campaign collected 945 verified petitions by the May 11 deadline. We continued to collect petitions for the next two weeks. On May 25, we submitted 215 petitions for verification, but the Supervisor of Elections has not yet verified them because we are still awaiting your response regarding the extension. It is likely that we met the requirement of 1,132 verified petitions within two weeks of the May 11 deadline and well before our requested extension date of June 1. On June 10 we paid the $5,568.44 filing fee.
At this time, we are requesting that the additional 215 petitions be verified and accepted for qualification through the petition process, and a refund of the filing fee. In the alternative, we request a waiver of the filing fee, and a refund. As I explained in the May 14 letter, we are entitled to relief because of the impact of the shutdown ordered by the Governor. The Governor not only has the authority to mitigate the harm his executive order wreaks on our elections, but also has a duty to do so. We are asking that this accommodation be afforded equally to all of the candidates who are in a similar predicament.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Deborah Cooney
Candidate for Sheriff of Indian River County
Cc: Laurel M. Lee, Secretary of State
R.A. Gray Building
500 South Bronough Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0250
Leslie Rossway Swan
Indian River County Supervisor of Elections
4375 43rd Avenue
Vero Beach, FL 32967Sent: Thursday, May 14, 2020 at 5:41 PM
From: “Deborah Cooney” <cooneyforsheriff@mail.com>
To: governorron.desantis@eog.myflorida.com, SecretaryofState@DOS.MyFlorida.com, lswan@voteindianriver.com
Subject: Request for Extension of May 11 Petition Deadline
Deborah Cooney
Candidate for Sheriff of Indian River County
P O Box 700013
Wabasso, FL 32970
cooneyforsheriff@mail.com
May 14, 2020
Governor Ron DeSantis
State of Florida
The Capitol
400 S. Monroe St.
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001
Dear Governor DeSantis,
Due to the coronavirus pandemic and shutdown, I am requesting an extension of the May 11 deadline for submitting the candidate petitions. This can be accomplished by an executive order, amendment, or other rule-making authority. This request was previously made in emails sent on May 10. It is my understanding that other candidates have made similar requests.
State of Florida Executive Orders Nos. 20-91, 20-83, 20-52, and 20-51 declare a public health emergency due to COVID-19 and require voters to stay at home. Thus, voters have been unavailable to participate in the election process set forth in Florida Statute 99.095. The virtual petition process, Rule 1SER20-2 approved by the Secretary of State is a nice gesture, but it does not accommodate voters without access to printers and scanners or candidates without in-depth technical abilities.
Many voters have expressed the desire to sign my petition but they are afraid of contamination from the virus. It has also been difficult to speak with voters who are shut in under the safer-at-home orders. Most meetings and gatherings, where voters would have been available to sign petitions, have been cancelled. Door-to-door canvassing has been prohibited. My campaign does not have the technical resources to build a complex website that would enable e-signatures. While some voters have expressed interest in signing remotely, these voters were unable to do so because they do not have access to printers and scanners.
I have made a bona fide effort to collect petitions before the May 11 deadline, but due to circumstances beyond my control, namely a state and national emergency, I have fallen short. As of the deadline, I have collected 945 of the required 1,132 verified petitions.
An extension through June 1 would be warranted under the circumstances to ensure a fair election process. Such an extension would not impact or delay the elections or the qualifying periods. In the alternative, please waive the qualifying fees for myself and all candidates who have been impacted by the COVID-19 emergency.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Deborah Cooney
Candidate for Sheriff of Indian River County
Cc: Laurel M. Lee, Secretary of State
R.A. Gray Building
500 South Bronough Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0250
Leslie Rossway Swan
Indian River County Supervisor of Elections
4375 43rd Avenue
Vero Beach, FL 32967
Deborah Cooney for Sheriff of Indian River County, Florida 