After holding a hearing on a request to move the date of the mayoral runoff election in Surfside, Florida—less than 20 hours before the election—a court entered an order granting in part/denying in part Plaintiffs’ request pertaining to the election. The court ruled the election would proceed as originally scheduled on April 7, right in the middle of Passover, pointing out that changing an existing election date could disenfranchise additional voters who may not be able to vote on a new date. But the court also ordered that the voting period be extended, ruling that administering the election during Passover would disenfranchise voters as well. The judge’s ruling creates a three-week window for additional mail-in ballots, allowing voters to request and submit them well beyond the April 7 election day. More specifically, the order expanded the mail-in voting period so that all eligible voters may cast ballots by mail through April 28, 2026; extended the request deadline so that voters may request a mail-in ballot through April 17, 2026; and increased flexibility around ballot return options, so that completed ballots may be returned either by mail or in person at the designated elections facility through April 28, 2026. The Center had submitted an amicus brief in support of Plaintiffs’ request to move the election.
