PRESS RELEASE
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Contact: Mitch Kates (727-710-2804)
LARRY BYRNES STATEMENT ON CANDIDACY FOR CONGRESS
Byrnes suspends campaign as result of court ruling
FT MYERS, FLORIDA: Yesterday in Tallahassee, the Circuit Court for the 2nd Judicial District ruled in favor of the Department of State of Florida in regards to Congressional candidate Larry Byrnes’ efforts to change the status of his campaign from WRI (write-in candidate) to Democrat, which was his intention from the beginning.
“Based on the result of yesterday’s ruling by Judge Cooper, I am officially suspending my campaign for U.S. Congress Florida District 14,” stated Byrnes.
During today’s hearing Judge John C. Cooper ruled in favor of the Department of State by interpreting the statute of law Section 99.021 (1) (a) 2). The statute requires that the Division of Elections provide “a printed copy of the oath or affirmation [which] shall be furnished to the candidate by the officer before whom such candidate seeks to qualify…” The judge’s interpretation was that the Department complied by providing a letter on January 17 that referred candidate Byrnes to the state’s website.
On April 15, 2008, candidate Byrnes received a letter from the Department of State indicating that he had successfully qualified by petition. The April 15th letter failed to notify Byrnes of any further requirements. It also made no indication that he should refer back to the website for further actions.
Byrnes made the following statement: ”First I want to thank my supporters for their commitment to my grassroots campaign and tireless efforts to collect over 5,400 petitions, a remarkable feat indeed!
“As you may know, on May 20, 2008, my campaign took legal action against the Florida Department of State, Division of Elections, to be placed on the ballot as a Democrat for election to the U.S. Congress in Florida’s 14th District.
“Yesterday, June 11, 2008, Judge John C. Cooper, Circuit Court for the 2nd Judicial District, Leon County, Florida ruled in favor of the Division of Elections. Of course, I am extremely disappointed with this decision but I will continue my tireless efforts to help the Democrats get elected and to build a strong and vibrant Democratic Party in southwest Florida.
“I want to again thank all of my friends and supporters who generously donated money, time, and energy to my campaign. Your faith in me is much appreciated and something my family and I will never forget,” closed Byrnes.
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PRESS RELEASE
Tuesday, May 22, 2008
Contact: Mitch Kates (727-710-2804)
LARRY BYRNES STATEMENT ON CANDIDACY FOR CONGRESS
Snafu by State Supervisor of Elections disrupts campaign
FT MYERS, FLORIDA: Today Larry Byrnes of Ft. Myers filed suit against the Florida Division of Elections in his effort to be placed on the August Primary and November General Election ballots as a Democrat Candidate for election to the U.S. Congress ‘s 14th Congressional District.
On April 15th, 2008, Byrnes received a letter from the Florida Division of Elections indicating that the required number of petition signatures had been certified in order to qualify as a candidate for election in U.S. Congress in Florida’s 14th Congressional District. The Division of Elections did not provide any additional forms or state any additional qualification requirements in its April 15th letter.
Byrnes is the first congressional candidate in the 14th district in decades to qualify for the ballot by petitions signed by registered voters, rather than by paying a substantial fee. Although the thousands of petitions submitted to the Division of Elections stated that he was running as a Democrat, the Division of Elections qualified Byrnes not as a Democratic candidate, but rather as a write-in candidate.
“On Thursday May 1st, the day before the end of the qualifying period, I noticed that the Division of Elections website showed that I was still not on the ballot even though I received a letter stating that I qualified by petitions,” stated Democratic candidate Larry Byrnes. “I immediately phoned the Division of Elections, and was informed that I needed to submit a signed and notarized loyalty oath by noon the following day.” Byrnes quickly downloaded a loyalty oath form from the Division’s website, signed it, had it notarized, and sent it off by overnight courier.
On Friday May 2nd at 4:50 p.m. the Division of Elections told the Byrnes campaign that the loyalty oath form submitted the day before was the form for write-in (“WRI”) candidates, not for partisan candidates. Therefore, the Division stated, despite submitting over 5400 signatures, Byrnes would not appear on the ballot, either in the August 26 Democratic primary election or the November 4 general election.
Although Byrnes informed the Division of Elections that his error was inadvertent and quickly tried to rectify the matter, including by offering to send immediately the proper form to qualify for the ballot as a Democrat, the Division of Elections rejected his attempt and stated that there was no recourse or appeal.
“The Florida Division of Elections is using a technicality to thwart the will of the people. I vehemently object to their handling of this situation. Many volunteers worked tirelessly to gather thousands of signatures to put my name on the ballot and mount a campaign to bring the values we hold and the change we need to Washington. We are looking into this matter, weighing all our options, to see what we might be able to do to rectify this unfortunate situation,” Larry Byrnes stated.
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