CASE STUDIES IN EMERGENCY ELECTION LITIGATION

Federal Judicial Center 10/30/2023 1

Multiple Suits After an Election to Relax 

the Standards for Counting and Recounting Votes 

Democratic Executive Committee of Florida v. Detzner 

(4:18-cv-520), VoteVets Action Fund v. Detzner 

(4:18-cv-524), DSCC v. Detzner (4:18-cv-526), 

and Democratic Senatorial Campaign 

Committee v. Detzner (4:18-cv-528) 

(Mark E. Walker and Robert L. Hinkle, N.D. Fla.) 

The campaign for the ultimately unsuccessful reelection of a U.S. 

senator filed four federal complaints during the week following a 

general election. Each complaint raised a different issue: signature 

matching on mail and provisional ballots, mail-ballot deadlines, 

manual-recount rules, and recount deadlines. The judge enjoined 

disqualification of votes for mismatched signatures without an opportunity to resolve the mismatch. He denied relief in the other cases. 

Subject: Absentee and early voting. Topics: Signature matching; 

absentee ballots; provisional ballots; recounts; recusal; case 

assignment; intervention. 

Four federal complaints were filed in the Northern District of Florida two to 

seven days after the 2018 general election by organizations affiliated with Senator Bill Nelson’s ultimately unsuccessful reelection campaign.1

 The plaintiffs 

filed with their complaints motions for temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions.2

1. Complaint, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Comm. v. Detzner, No. 4:18-cv-528 (N.D. 

Fla. Nov. 13, 2018), D.E. 1 [hereinafter Democratic Senatorial Campaign Comm. Complaint]; 

Complaint, DSCC v. Detzner, No. 4:18-cv-526 (N.D. Fla. Nov. 13, 2018), D.E. 1 [hereinafter

DSCC Complaint]; Complaint, VoteVets Action Fund v. Detzner, No. 4:18-cv-524 (N.D. Fla. 

Nov. 12, 2018), D.E. 1 [hereinafter VoteVets Action Fund Complaint]; Complaint, Democratic 

Exec. Comm. of Fla. v. Detzner, No. 4:18-cv-520 (N.D. Fla. Nov. 8, 2018), D.E. 1 [hereinafter

Democratic Exec. Comm. of Fla. Complaint]; see Daniel Chang, Alex Daugherty & Maya Kaufman, Dade Finishes Its Machine Recount as Broward Starts Process, Miami Herald, Nov. 14, 

2018, at 1A; Daniel Chang, Elizabeth Koh & Nicholas Nehamas, Legal Sparring Continues; 

Recounts Get Uneven Start, Miami Herald, Nov. 13, 2018, at 1A; David Smiley, Kyra Gurney, 

Steve Bousquet & Emily L. Mahoney, It’s “Prayer Mode” as Legal Decisions and Deadlines 

Loom, Miami Herald, Nov. 15, 2018, at 1A; Sean Sullivan, Beth Reinhard, Vanessa Williams 

& Lori Rozsa, New Court Moves Could Prolong Fla., Ga. Races, Wash. Post, Nov. 14, 2018, at 

A1; see also Steve Bousquet & Steve Contorno, Sluggish Campaign Ends a Lengthy Career, Miami Herald, Nov. 18, 2018, at 1A; Joshua Jamerson, Alex Leary & Andrew Duehren, GOP 

Wins Senate Race in Florida, Wall St. J., Nov. 19, 2018, at A1; Patricia Mazzei, Frances Robles 

& Maggie Astor, Scott Unseats Senate Democrat After a Manual Recount in Florida, N.Y. 

Times, Nov. 19, 2018, at A11; Jeffrey Schweers, Seven Lawsuits and Counting: Tallahassee Is 

Ground Zero, Tallahassee Democrat, Nov. 14, 2018, at A6. See generally Jay Weaver & Steve 

Bousquet, Federal Judge Takes Center Stage in Recount Battle, Miami Herald, Nov. 15, 2018, 

at 3A. 

2. Motion, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Comm., No. 4:18-cv-528 (N.D. Fla. Nov. 13, 

2018), D.E. 3; Temporary-Restraining-Order Motion, DSCC, No. 4:18-cv-526 (N.D. Fla. Nov. 
Multiple Suits After an Election to Relax the Standards for Counting and Recounting Votes 

2 Federal Judicial Center 10/30/2023 

A case filed on Thursday, November 8, challenged the protocol for matching voters’ signatures on mail and provisional ballots.3

 A case filed on Monday 

sought an extension of deadlines for receipt of mail ballots.4 One case filed on 

the next day challenged rules for a manual recount.5 Another case filed that 

day sought an extension of recount deadlines.6

Signature Mismatches 

Judge Robert L. Hinkle held a telephonic hearing in the signature-matching 

case on November 9, the day after the case was filed.7 He granted8 motions to 

intervene by the National Republican Senatorial Committee9 and Florida’s attorney general.10 Observing that relief from the matching protocol was not required before the November 10 submissions of unofficial election results, 

Judge Hinkle ordered a response from the defendants to the motion for relief 

by November 12—acknowledging that that was a federal holiday in observance of Sunday’s Veterans Day—and set the case for hearing again at 1:00 

p.m. on November 14.11 On Saturday, November 10, however, Judge Hinkle 

disqualified himself from the case: 

13, 2018), D.E. 3; Motion, VoteVets Action Fund, No. 4:18-cv-524 (N.D. Fla. Nov. 12, 2018), 

D.E. 4; Motion, Democratic Exec. Comm. of Fla., No. 4:18-cv-520 (N.D. Fla. Nov. 8, 2018), 

D.E. 3. 

3. Democratic Exec. Comm. of Fla. Complaint, supra note 1; Democratic Exec. Comm. of 

Fla. v. Nat’l Republican Senatorial Comm., 950 F.3d 790, 792 (11th Cir. 2020); Democratic 

Exec. Comm. of Fla. v. Lee, 915 F.3d 1312, 1317 (11th Cir. 2019); see Amy Gardner, In the 

Land of Hanging Chads, a New Balloting Issue, Wash. Post, Nov. 15, 2018, at A1; Patricia 

Mazzei & Frances Robles, Protests and Lawsuits as Florida Keeps Counting, N.Y. Times, Nov. 

10, 2018, at A1; John McCarthy, As Recount Rhetoric Rises, Scott and Nelson File Suit, Tallahassee Democrat, Nov. 10, 2018, at A5. 

4. VoteVets Action Fund Complaint, supra note 1; see Nick Madigan & Frances Robles, 

Judge Urges Parties to “Ramp Down” Rhetoric in Florida Recount, N.Y. Times, Nov. 13, 2018, 

at A10. 

5. DSCC Complaint, supra note 1. 

6. Democratic Senatorial Campaign Comm. Complaint, supra note 1; see Larry Barszewski 

& Lois Solomon, Suits Seek to Extend Recount Deadlines, Orlando Sentinel, Nov. 14, 2018, at 

A1; Allison McCann & Karen Yourish, In Some Races, Results May Still Be Weeks Away, N.Y. 

Times, Nov. 14, 2018, at A18. 

7. Minutes, Democratic Exec. Comm. of Fla., No. 4:18-cv-520 (N.D. Fla. Nov. 9, 2018), D.E. 

19 [hereinafter Nov. 9, 2018, Democratic Exec. Comm. of Fla. Minutes] (noting that the hearing ran from 4:07 p.m. to 4:34 p.m.). 

A docket entry gave parties and the public dial-in information. Docket Sheet, id. (Nov. 8, 

2018) (D.E. 10). 

8. Nov. 9, 2018, Democratic Exec. Comm. of Fla. Minutes, supra note 7; Scheduling Order, 

Democratic Exec. Comm. of Fla., No. 4:18-cv-520 (N.D. Fla. Nov. 9, 2018), D.E. 20 [hereinafter 

Democratic Exec. Comm. of Fla. Scheduling Order]; Democratic Exec. Comm. of Fla., 950 F.3d 

at 792–93. 

9. Intervention Motion, Democratic Exec. Comm. of Fla., No. 4:18-cv-520 (N.D. Fla. Nov. 

9, 2018), D.E. 11. 

10. Intervention Motion, id. (Nov. 9, 2018), D.E. 15; see McCarthy, supra note 3. 

11. Democratic Exec. Comm. of Fla. Scheduling Order, supra note 8; see Glenn Thrush, 

Audra D.S. Burch & Frances Robles, Parsing Signatures, Not Chads, in Florida Vote, N.Y. 

Times, Nov. 15, 2018, at A1. 
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After conducting the scheduling conference and entering an order on 

November 9, I remembered that my brother is a party to a lawsuit involving 

Governor Rick Scott. This would not affect my handling of this case, but a 

reasonable person might think otherwise. 

Accordingly, I hereby disqualify myself from this case.12

Judge Mark E. Walker adopted Judge Hinkle’s previously issued scheduling order.13 On Sunday, Judge Walker issued guidance on the information he 

expected to receive at the Wednesday hearing, including an intention to seek 

testimony pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 614 from the local county supervisor of elections.14 At the November 14 hearing, “Reporters and campaign 

officials packed three rows of seats inside the courtroom, while cameras were 

staked out in the rain.”15 The afternoon hearing lasted more than five hours.16 

On November 15, Judge Walker granted the plaintiffs a preliminary injunction.17

The precise issue in this case is whether Florida’s law that allows county 

election officials to reject vote-by-mail and provisional ballots for mismatched signatures—with no standards, an illusory process to cure, and no 

process to challenge the rejection—passes constitutional muster. The answer 

is simple. It does not.18

12. Disqualification Order, Democratic Exec. Comm. of Fla., No. 4:18-cv-520 (N.D. Fla. 

Nov. 10, 2018), D.E. 21; see Minutes, id. (Nov. 14, 2018), D.E. 50; see also Schweers, supra note 

1 (“Don Hinkle sued [Governor] Scott for not disclosing what’s in his blind trust.”). 

13. Order, Democratic Exec. Comm. of Fla., No. 4:18-cv-520 (N.D. Fla. Nov. 10, 2018), D.E. 

25. 

Tim Reagan interviewed Judge Walker for this report by telephone on December 12, 2018. 

14. Order, Democratic Exec. Comm. of Fla., No. 4:18-cv-520 (N.D. Fla. Nov. 11, 2018), D.E. 

26; see Transcript at 4, Fla. Democratic Party v. Detzner, No. 4:16-cv-607 (N.D. Fla. Oct. 14, 

2016, filed Oct. 16, 2016), D.E. 32 (using the same procedure in an earlier case); see also

Schweers, supra note 1. 

At the status conference in the recount deadlines case, Judge Walker expressed regret for 

not using Rule 614: 

THE COURT: . . . 

. . . I wish under Rule 614 I’d have called the supervisor as a witness, and she could 

have testified by video in my courtroom from the video in the federal courthouse in 

Palm Beach, so I could have done it in the least disruptive way possible, but I—I didn’t, 

and that’s a failing on my part. 

Transcript at 4–5, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Comm. v. Detzner, No. 4:18-cv-528 (N.D. 

Fla. Nov. 15, 2018, filed Nov. 15, 2018), D.E. 40 [hereinafter Democratic Senatorial Campaign 

Comm. Transcript]. 

15. Sean Sullivan, Beth Reinhard & Amy Gardner, Deadline to Certify Elections Looms in 

Fla. as Campaigns Await Court Ruling, Wash. Post, Nov. 15, 2018, at A4. 

16. Transcript, Democratic Exec. Comm. of Fla., No. 4:18-cv-520 (N.D. Fla. Nov. 14, 2018, 

filed Nov. 15, 2018), D.E. 66; see Jeffrey Schweers & Jeff Burlew, All Eyes on Local Judge in 

Recount, Tallahassee Democrat, Nov. 15, 2018, at A7; see also John Kennedy & Jane Musgrave, 

Federal Judge Under Gun as 7 Lawsuits Await Action, Palm Beach Post, Nov. 15, 2018, at 1A. 

17. Democratic Exec. Comm. of Fla. v. Detzner, 347 F. Supp. 3d 1017 (N.D. Fla. 2018); 

Democratic Exec. Comm. of Fla. v. Nat’l Republican Senatorial Comm., 950 F.3d 790, 793. 

18. Democratic Exec. Comm. of Fla., 347 F. Supp. 3d at 1022. 
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Judge Walker ordered election officials to provide voters whose ballots were 

rejected for apparently mismatched signatures opportunities to cure.19

Judge Walker denied the plaintiffs’ request that he “order the Secretary of 

State to immediately produce, both to Plaintiffs and publicly, a list of all voters 

whose ballots were determined to contain a mismatched signature and have 

not yet been cured.”20

On that same day, the court of appeals denied, by a vote of two to one, 

motions to stay the injunction and expedite the appeal.21 The majority and 

dissenting judges issued opinions on February 15, 2019.22 The majority concluded, among other things, that “Defendants have identified no fraud-prevention interest that justifies depriving legitimate vote-by-mail and provisional voters of the ability to cure the signature mismatch, thereby disenfranchising them.”23

A compliance report filed by the secretary on December 7, 2018, showed 

637 ballots statewide with signature mismatches cured since Judge Walker’s 

order.24 Judge Walker often required an after-action report in election litigation so that there was a public record of the impact of the court’s order.25

The plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed an amended complaint following Florida’s June 28, 2019, enactment of statutory changes “specifically address[ing] 

issues brought to light by Plaintiffs’ lawsuit.”26 In 2020, the court of appeals 

denied the National Republican Senatorial Committee’s motions to vacate earlier opinions by the district court and the court of appeals in this case, which 

had become moot; none of them would be binding in future proceedings.27

19. Id. at 1032–33; Democratic Exec. Comm. of Fla. v. Lee, 915 F.3d 1312, 1317 (11th Cir. 

2019; see Andrew Duehren, Florida Race Gets Manual Recount, Wall St. J., Nov. 16, 2018, at 

A4; Beth Reinhard, Sean Sullivan, Amy Gardner & Lori Rozsa, DeSantis Gains in Bid to Be 

Fla. Governor, Wash. Post, Nov. 16, 2018, at A1; David Smiley & Steve Bousquet, Florida Orders First Ever Statewide Hand Recounts for Senate and Agriculture Post, Miami Herald, Nov. 

16, 2018, at 1A. 

20. Minutes, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Comm. v. Detzner, No. 4:18-cv-520 (N.D. 

Fla. Nov. 15, 2018), D.E. 61; see Emergency Motion, id. (Nov. 15, 2018), D.E. 52. 

A tally of rejected ballots per county showed a total of 5,686 statewide. Compliance Notice, 

id. (Nov. 16, 2018), D.E. 72. 

21. Order, Detzner v. Democratic Exec. Comm. of Fla., No. 18-14758 (11th Cir. Nov. 15, 

2018); Democratic Exec. Comm. of Fla., 950 F.3d at 793; see Reinhard et al., supra note 19; 

Smiley and Bousquet, supra note 19. 

22. Democratic Exec. Comm. of Fla., 915 F.3d 1312; Democratic Exec. Comm. of Fla., 950 

F.3d at 793; see Dara Kam, Appeals Court Agrees That Florida’s Signature Rules on Mail Votes 

Are “Serious Burden,” Miami Herald, Feb. 17, 2019, at 29A. 

23. Democratic Exec. Comm. of Fla., 915 F.3d at 1322. 

24. Compliance Notice, Democratic Exec. Comm. of Fla., No. 4:18-cv-520 (N.D. Fla. Dec. 

7, 2018), D.E. 84. 

25. Interview with Hon. Mark E. Walker, Dec. 12, 2018; see Order, Democratic Exec. 

Comm. of Fla., No. 4:18-cv-520 (N.D. Fla. Nov. 19, 2018), D.E. 78. 

26. Voluntary Dismissal at 6, Democratic Exec. Comm. of Fla., No. 4:18-cv-520 (N.D. Fla. 

July 2, 2019), D.E. 143; Democratic Exec. Comm. of Fla., 950 F.3d at 793; see 2019 Fla. Laws ch. 

162; see also Order, Democratic Exec. Comm. of Fla., No. 4:18-cv-520 (N.D. Fla. July 29, 2019), 

D.E. 149 (granting voluntary dismissal); Amended Complaint, id. (Jan. 14, 2019), D.E. 100.

27. Democratic Exec. Comm. of Fla., 950 F.3d 790. 
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Mail Ballot Deadlines 

Senior Judge William Stafford disqualified himself from the mail-ballot-deadlines-case filed on November 12, 2018, the federal holiday,28 and Judge Walker 

set the case for a telephonic status conference on Tuesday, November 13.29 The 

docket sheet provided the parties and the public with dial-in information.30

THE COURT: . . . 

. . . This is a public proceeding, but these proceedings should not and 

must not be recorded. Any proceeding that I do by phone will be open to the 

public because, again, it’s a public proceeding. Any proceeding I conduct in 

the courtroom will be likewise open to the public. 

But proceedings in federal court are not to be recorded.31

An evidentiary hearing was held at 1:06 p.m. on Thursday.32 Judge Walker 

granted intervention motions33 by the Republican Senatorial Committee,34

Florida’s Republican Party,35 and Florida’s attorney general.36

On November 16, Judge Walker denied the plaintiffs immediate relief: 

This case involves Florida laws that allow overseas voters the opportunity 

to vote, and have their votes counted, 10 days after election day, yet require 

domestic vote-by-mail voters to vote, and have their votes counted, on election day. 

. . . 

In this case, the asserted injury is outweighed by the state’s important 

regulatory interest. . . . The fact that there might be problems with the mail 

does not outweigh the state’s important interest in delineating finality in elections. . . . The restriction is reasonable, and the state’s regulatory interest is 

sufficient to justify the deadline. 

. . . 

. . . The law plainly imposes different deadlines for domestic and overseas 

voters to have their vote-by-mail ballots counted. But . . . the whole point of 

the 10-day exception for overseas voters is to give them the same right to vote 

as domestic voters.37

28. Disqualification Order, VoteVets Action Fund v. Detzner, No. 4:18-cv-524 (N.D. Fla. 

Nov. 12, 2018), D.E. 8; see Schweers, supra note 1. 

29. Order, VoteVets Action Fund, No. 4:18-cv-524 (N.D. Fla. Nov. 12, 2018), D.E. 14; see

Minutes, id. (Nov. 13, 2018), D.E. 30; see Schweers, supra note 1. 

30. Docket Sheet, VoteVets Action Fund, No. 4:18-cv-524 (N.D. Fla. Nov. 11, 2018) (D.E. 

15). 

31. Transcript at 3, id. (Nov. 13, 2018, filed Nov. 15, 2018), D.E. 52 [hereinafter Nov. 13, 

2018, VoteVets Action Fund Transcript]. 

32. Transcript, id. (Nov. 15, 2018, filed Nov. 15, 2018), D.E. 53; Minutes, id. (Nov. 15, 

2018), D.E. 55. 

33. See Schweers, supra note 1. 

34. Order, VoteVets Action Fund, No. 4:18-cv-524 (N.D. Fla. Nov. 12, 2018), D.E. 16; see

Intervention Motion, id. (Nov. 12, 2018), D.E. 10. 

35. Order, id. (Nov. 12, 2018), D.E. 19; see Intervention Motion, id. (Nov. 13, 2018), D.E. 

21. 

36. Order, id. (Nov. 13, 2018), D.E. 23; see Intervention Motion, id. (Nov. 13, 2018), D.E. 

28. 

37. Opinion at 1, 6–7, id. (Nov. 16, 2018), D.E. 56; see Audra D.S. Burch & Glenn Thrush, 
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Judge Walker ordered Florida’s secretary of state to provide the court with 

a count of how many non-overseas mail-in ballots each county received that 

were postmarked before election day and received after election day.38 There 

were 6,882 statewide.39

The plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed the action on January 18, 2019.40

Challenge to the Rules for the Manual Recount 

On November 13, 2018, the day that the case was filed, Judge Hinkle disqualified himself from the case challenging the rules for the manual recount.41

Judge Walker set a status conference for 11:00 on the next day.42 He granted 

motions to intervene by the Republican Senatorial Committee43 and the Democratic Party’s gubernatorial campaign.44 At the status conference it was 

agreed that the case posed a question of law and not a question of fact.45

Judge Walker denied the plaintiffs immediate relief on November 15, because the rules for ascertaining the intent of voters who did not properly mark 

their ballots were neutral and reasonable.46 The plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed 

the action on January 18, 2019.47

Recount Deadlines 

Judge Walker set the November 13 recount-deadline case for a status conference at 9:00 a.m. on November 15.48 He granted motions to intervene by the 

Republican Senatorial Committee49 and the Democratic Party’s gubernatorial 

Florida Recounts Senate Votes Again, and Democrat’s Chances Dwindle, N.Y. Times, Nov. 17, 

2018, at A20. 

38. Order, VoteVets Action Fund, No. 4:18-cv-524 (N.D. Fla. Nov. 19, 2018), D.E. 57. 

39. Compliance Notice, id. (Dec. 14, 2018), D.E. 65; see Gary Fineout, Thousands of Mailed 

Ballots in Florida Were Not Counted, Miami Herald, Dec. 12, 2018, at 3A. 

40. Dismissal Notice, VoteVets Action Fund, No. 4:18-cv-524 (N.D. Fla. Jan. 18, 2019), D.E. 

73; Order, id. (Jan. 22, 2019), D.E. 74. 

41. Disqualification Order, DSCC v. Detzner, No. 4:18-cv-526 (N.D. Fla. Nov. 13, 2018), 

D.E. 5. 

42. Order, id. (Nov. 13, 2018), D.E. 8; see Minutes, id. (Nov. 14, 2018), D.E. 20; see also

Nov. 13, 2018, VoteVets Action Fund Transcript, supra note 31, at 30 (noting in a mail-ballotdeadlines case proceeding that Judge Walker planned to set the manual-recount-rules case for 

a proceeding on the following morning). 

43. Order, DSCC, No. 4:18-cv-526 (N.D. Fla. Nov. 13, 2018), D.E. 12; see Intervention Motion, id. (Nov. 13, 2018), D.E. 10. 

44. Order, id. (Nov. 15, 2018), D.E. 32; see Intervention Motion, id. (Nov. 15, 2018), D.E. 

30; see also Withdrawal Order, id. (Dec. 6, 2018), D.E. 44 (granting a motion to withdraw from 

intervention by the Democratic Party’s gubernatorial campaign). 

45. Transcript at 4–5, id. (Nov. 14, 2018, filed Nov. 15, 2018), D.E. 34 [hereinafter DSCC

Transcript]. 

46. Democratic Senatorial Campaign Comm. v. Detzner, 347 F. Supp. 3d 1033 (N.D. Fla. 

2018); see Burch & Thrush, supra note 37; Manuel Roig-Franzia & Amy Gardner, Nelson’s 

Chances in Senate Race Dim as Key Fla. Counties Complete Recount, Wash. Post, Nov. 17, 

2018, at A4. 

47. Dismissal Notice, DSCC, No. 4:18-cv-526 (N.D. Fla. Jan. 18, 2019), D.E. 53. 

48. Order, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Comm. v. Detzner, No. 4:18-cv-528 (N.D. 

Fla. Nov. 13, 2018), D.E. 8; see Minutes, id. (Nov. 15, 2018), D.E. 33. 

49. Order, id. (Nov. 14, 2018, filed Nov. 13, 2018), D.E. 12; see Intervention Motion, id.
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campaign.50 At the beginning of the status conference, he determined from the 

parties that the case did not require testimony.51

Judge Walker denied the plaintiffs immediate relief on November 15.52

The question [is] whether the statutory scheme of the Florida Election 

Code, which defaults to the acceptance of unofficial election returns if a recount cannot be completed by the official reporting deadline, is constitutionally tenable when it means that the votes of citizens in 66 counties will be 

recounted while those in the one remaining county will not.53

The plaintiffs were not entitled to equitable relief, because “there is a complete 

dearth of evidence before this Court concerning the status, progress, or expected completion of the ordered recounts in Palm Beach County. . . . This 

Court does not and will not fashion a remedy in the dark.”54

In the event, all counties completed their manual recounts on time.55 The 

case was voluntarily dismissed in December.56

Managing Four Related Emergency Cases 

Judge Walker’s strategy for managing these four cases under time pressure was 

to ascertain as early as possible whether he would need to hear evidence.57 Another priority was establishing a time frame that would allow for appellate review.58 “THE COURT: . . . [T]he people of Florida need to get orders out of 

me, as well as the parties, sooner rather than later. And then all the parties 

need to be able to get to the Eleventh Circuit . . . .”59

In addition to the 11:00 a.m. conference and the 1:00 p.m. hearing on 

Wednesday, November 14, and the 9:00 a.m. conference and the 1:06 p.m. 

hearing on Thursday, November 15, in these four cases, Judge Walker held a 

conference at 10:02 a.m. on Wednesday60 and hearings on Thursday at 2:19 

(Nov. 14, 2018), D.E. 10. 

50. Order, id. (Nov. 15, 2018), D.E. 39; see Intervention Motion, id. (Nov. 15, 2018), D.E. 

37; see also Withdrawal Order, id. (Dec. 6, 2018), D.E. 48 (granting a motion to withdraw from 

intervention by the Democratic Party’s gubernatorial campaign). 

51. Democratic Senatorial Campaign Comm. Transcript, supra note 14, at 4–5. 

52. Opinion, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Comm., No. 4:18-cv-528 (N.D. Fla. Nov. 

15, 2018), D.E. 36 [hereinafter Democratic Senatorial Campaign Comm. Opinion]; see Duehren, supra note 19. 

53. Democratic Senatorial Campaign Comm. Opinion, supra note 52, at 2. 

54. Id. at 5. 

55. See Order, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Comm., No. 4:18-cv-528 (N.D. Fla. Nov. 

19, 2018), D.E. 42. 

56. Dismissal Order, id. (Dec. 17, 2018), D.E. 50. 

57. Interview with Hon. Mark E. Walker, Dec. 12, 2018. 

58. Id. 

59. DSCC Transcript, supra note 45, at 8. 

60. Minutes, League of Women Voters of Fla. v. Scott, No. 4:18-cv-525 (N.D. Fla. Nov. 14, 

2018), D.E. 16. 
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p.m.61 and 5:12 p.m.62 in other emergency-election-litigation cases.63 Long 

nights at work followed the proceedings.64

The clerk’s office in this district was especially attuned to the possibility of 

recusal, and it identified election litigation and other emergency litigation as 

cases in which recusal decisions should be made quickly.65

61. Minutes, id. (Nov. 15, 2018), D.E. 28; see League of Women Voters of Fla. v. Scott, 366 

F. Supp. 3d 1311 (N.D. Fla. 2018) (denying a motion to order the governor to recuse himself 

from vote-counting oversight while a candidate for another office). 

62. Minutes, Jim Bonfiglio Campaign v. Detzner, No. 4:18-cv-527 (N.D. Fla. Nov. 15, 

2018), D.E. 49; see Order, id. (Nov. 15, 2018), D.E. 42; see also Opinion, id. (Nov. 16, 2018), 

D.E. 53 (clarifying the discretion of county election officials to recount a race that would require less time before recounting races that would require more time). 

63. See John McCarthy, Recount Rundown of What Happened Wednesday, Tallahassee 

Democrat, Nov. 15, 2018, at A3. 

64. Interview with Hon. Mark E. Walker, Dec. 12, 2018.

65. Id.