West Palm Beach, Fla.–Florida Democrats asked a state court Friday to block Election Day notices at polling places that would inform voters in Rep. Mark Foley’s district that his GOP replacement on the ballot will receive his votes. 

Brian Skoloff, Fla. Dems Attack Election Day Notices, Oct. 13, 2006. 

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Tallahassee–Florida law doesn’t permit polling place signs saying a vote for disgraced former U.S. Rep. Mark Foley will go to a replacement candidate, a judge ruled Wednesday. 

Circuit Judge Janet Ferris granted a temporary injunction to stop election officials from using signs at the polls on Nov. 7. The signs would say that while Foley’s name remains on the ballot, Republican state Rep. Joe Negron will get his votes instead in the race against Democrat Tim Mahoney.

Bill Kaczor, Judge Nixes Signs in Foley’s District, Orlando Sentinel, Oct. 18, 2006. 

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Negron’s lawyer, Robert Fernandez, questioned the Democrats’ motives, noting that the party didn’t protest in 2004 when Broward County’s elections supervisor posted similar notices to inform voters that a vote for withdrawn congressional candidate Jim Stork was really a vote for his last-minute stand-in, Robin Rorapaugh. 

In that case, though, Bush’s secretary of state’s office tried to keep Rorapaugh from getting any votes and fought the case to the state Supreme Court…

Marc Caputo, Signs for Foley replacement can’t be posted near polls, Miami Herald, Oct. 19, 2006.

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We understand that candidates do not resort to litigation lightly, and likely do so only when a problem is significant and unresolvable. 

Thurman v. Cobb, No. 2006-CA-2619 at 7 (Fla. Cir. Ct., Oct. 18, 2006)(order granting temporary injunction) available at http://electionlawblog.org/archives/thurman.pdf