Case Title: Pasco v. Heggen

Citation: 314 So. 2d 1

Docket Number: 

State: florida

Court: Florida Supreme Court

Date: 1975-03-19T00:00:00Z

Document:
314 So. 2d 1 (1975)
Emily PASCO and Robert Perkins, Jr., Appellants,
v.
Joan HEGGEN, Mayor, et al., Appellees.
No. 45557.

Supreme Court of Florida.
March 19, 1975.
Jon D. Caminez, Tallahassee, for appellants.
Robert L. Shevin, Atty. Gen., and Raymond W. Gearey, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellees.
OVERTON, Justice.
The appellants, who are registered Tallahassee voters, appeal from an order of the Leon County Circuit Court upholding the constitutionality of write-in vote provisions in Sections 99.023 and 101.251(3), Florida Statutes. We have jurisdiction pursuant to Article V, Section 3(b)(1), Florida Constitution.
At elections conducted on February 19 and 26, 1974, the appellants allegedly desired to cast write-in votes for City Commissioner, Group I, for the City of Tallahassee. They were unable to do so because there was no compliance by a write-in candidate with the provisions of Section *2 99.023, Florida Statutes, and, therefore, the voting machines did not provide space for casting write-in ballots in that race. On February 25 they accordingly brought this action, seeking a writ of mandamus by the circuit court to compel the inclusion of space on the ballots for the casting of write-in votes. No alleged candidate was a party to this action. The circuit court denied all relief and dismissed the appellants' action.
The trial court upheld the validity of Sections 99.023 and 101.251(3), Florida Statutes, which provide respectively:
In doing so, the trial judge, in a very explicit and well reasoned opinion, said:
This Court has previously held that legislative enactments regulating the conduct of elections come before this tribunal with an extremely strong presumption of validity. Bodner v. Gray, 129 So. 2d 419, 421 (Fla. 1961), 89 A.L.R.2d 860. We have also stated that only unreasonable or unnecessary restraints on the elective process are prohibited. State v. Dillon, 32 Fla. 545, 14 So. 383 (1893). After carefully examining the requirements of the two statutes before us, we find that they serve a number of reasonable and legitimate interests.
First, Section 99.023, Florida Statutes, enables the State to protect the integrity of its political process from frivolous or fraudulent candidacy by requiring the prospective write-in candidate to file an oath that he possesses the requisite qualifications and will accept the office if elected thereto. In Bullock v. Carter, 405 U.S. 134, 145, 92 S. Ct. 849, 31 L. Ed. 2d 92 (1972), the United States Supreme Court held that states have an interest, if not a duty, to ensure that this end is met.
Secondly, but equally important, the State has a legitimate interest in keeping ballots within manageable limits. Lubin v. Panish, 415 U.S. 709, 94 S. Ct. 1315, 39 L. Ed. 2d 702 (1974); Jenness v. Fortson, 403 U.S. 431, 91 S. Ct. 1970, 29 L. Ed. 2d 554 (1971); Bullock v. Carter, supra. The requirement under Section 101.251(3), Florida Statutes, that one write-in candidate qualify before write-in space is provided on the ballot for a given office helps serve this reasonable interest. In Danciu v. Glisson, 302 So. 2d 131 (Fla. 1974), we upheld a related statute, Section 99.152, Florida Statutes, which requires an individual to obtain signatures from a specific percentage of the total registered electors at the last general election before his or her name may be placed on the ballot. We there observed:
302 So. 2d  at 133.
Finally, the two statutes here at issue serve to protect the right of privacy for the individual who does not desire to be a candidate. That right is partially embodied *4 in Section 114.01, Florida Statutes, which recognizes the right of a person elected to public office to refuse acceptance of the office. It is also embodied in the case of Battaglia v. Adams, 164 So. 2d 195 (Fla. 1964), where we clearly recognized the individual's absolute right to control the appearance or nonappearance of his name upon an election ballot.
In summary, we hold that Article VI, Section 1, of the Florida Constitution, guarantees a right to vote only for qualified persons of the elector's choice and that Sections 99.023 and 101.251(3), Florida Statutes, set reasonable regulations for a write-in candidacy.
The order of the trial court is affirmed.
ADKINS, C.J., ROBERTS and McCAIN, JJ., and CREWS, LEE and McCRARY, Circuit Court Judges, concur.