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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA FORT PIERCE DIVISION

TRUE THE VOTE, INC. in its ) individual, corporate capacity, and ) PAMELA WOHLSCHLEGEL, ) )

Plaintiffs

, ) Civil Action No. _______________ ) v. ) ) GERTRUDE WALKER, St. Lucie County ) Supervisor of Elections, in her official ) capacity, )

Defendant

. ) ___________________________________ )

COMPLAINT

Plaintiffs, by their attorneys, bring to enforce federal public inspection rights under Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (“NVRA”) (Pub. L. 103–31, § 8), 42 U.S.C. § 1973gg-6(i)(1), records retention requirements of 42 U.S.C. § 1974, and, state public information rights under Article I, section 24 of the Florida Constitution, and chapter 119, F.S. 1. Plaintiffs seek declaratory and injunctive relief to compel Defendant’s compliance with Section 8 of the NVRA. Specifically, Defendant has violated 42 U.S.C. § 1973gg-6(i)(1) by failing to permit the inspection of election records relating to the 2012 Federal general election for Florida’s 18

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Congressional District, as required by Section 8. Plaintiffs thus seek a declaration and an injunction requiring Defendant to permit plaintiffs to publicly inspect and examine all voter registration and election records as described in this complaint. 2. Plaintiffs seek declaratory and injunctive relief to compel Defendant’s compliance with 42 U.S.C. § 1974 and preserve all election records, in whatever form, relating to the 2012 Federal general election for Florida’s 18

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Congressional District.

Case 2:13-cv-14046-XXXX Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 02/03/2013 Page 1 of 14

2:13cv14046

2 3. Plaintiffs seek declaratory and injunctive relief to compel the Defendant to produce and make available public election information and records relating to the 2012 Federal general election for Florida’s 18

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Congressional District under Article I, section 24 of the Florida Constitution, and chapter 119, F.S.

JURISDICTION AND VENUE

4. This Court has jurisdiction over this matter pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331, as the action arises under the laws of the United States, and under 42 U.S.C. § 1973gg-9(b)(2), as the action seeks injunctive and declaratory relief under the NVRA. 5. This Court has jurisdiction over this matter pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1974d. 6. This Court has pendent jurisdiction to hear claims brought under Article I, section 24 of the Florida Constitution, and chapter 119, F.S. 7. Venue in this Court is proper under 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b), because all of the events or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred in this district.

PARTIES

8. Plaintiff True the Vote is a non-profit organization that seeks to restore transparency, truth, faith, and integrity to local, state, and federal elections. Plaintiff True the Vote brings this action in its individual, corporate capacity only. 9. Plaintiff Pamela Wohlschlegel is a registered voter in the 18

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Congressional District of Florida. Plaintiff cast a ballot for her member of Congress in the 18

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Congressional District of Florida.


3 10. Defendant Gertrude Walker is the Supervisor of Elections in St. Lucie County. In that capacity, she is both the custodian of records sought by the plaintiffs to be preserved and inspected, as well as the administrator of elections in St. Lucie County. Defendant administered the general election in St. Lucie County for the 18

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Congressional District in 2012.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

11. Under Section 8 of the NVRA, election officials “shall maintain for at least 2 years and shall make available for public inspection and, where available, photocopying at a reasonable cost, all records concerning the implementation of programs and activities conducted for the purpose of ensuring the accuracy and currency of official lists of eligible voters.” 42 U.S.C. § 1973gg-6(i)(1). Among those records that must be maintained and made available are records of notices sent to inactive voters and responses. 42 U.S.C. § 1973gg-6(i)(2). 12. The administration of the 2012 federal general election for the 18

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Congressional District was marred by controversy, ambiguities, uncertainty and inconsistent tabulations. 13. Allen West, Republican candidate for the 18

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Congressional District maintained a small but steady lead on the night of November 6, 2012. Shortly after midnight, a batch of early votes from St. Lucie County was tallied, giving Democratic candidate Patrick Murphy the lead by more than 2,000 votes. When pressed about the late tallied batch of early votes, Defendant Walker noted that the tabulating machines had been unable to read the electronic memory cartridges containing the ballot counts from early voting sites, forcing poll workers to manually feed the paper ballots through scanners at the elections office later than planned. The sudden and unanticipated lead change late in the evening, coupled with the Supervisor’s admission that there had been a machine failure, created concern that some of the early vote ballots in St. Lucie County had been counted twice.
