- October 1, 2024
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Flagler County Supervisor of Elections Kaiti Lenhart has filed an answer to the injunction lawsuit by Palm Coast resident Alan Lowe regarding the controversial Palm Coast charter amendment.
Lowe filed the injunction on Sept. 20 and the case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Christopher France. The complaint lists both the city of Palm Coast and Lenhart as defendants and asks the court to either remove the amendment from the Nov. 5 ballot or to require the election results not be calculated by the defendants.
But neither the city or Lenhart have the power to do so, according to the reply filed by county attorney Sean Moylan on behalf of Lenhart, as election supervisor, on Oct. 1. The reply states that the complaint is “fatally flawed and should be dismissed” as it does not name the only legal authority with the power to canvass the ballots cast and certify the results.
That power lies solely with the Flagler County Canvassing Board, the document said, who, by necessity, must be added to the complaint "as an indispensable party."
The filed answer also states that removing the amendment from the ballot was impossible because of the timing. Not only were ballots mailed to uniformed and overseas citizens on Sept. 20 — the day the complaint was filed — another 20,000 vote by mail ballots were sent out on Sept. 27.
“As a practical matter, voting has begun, and it is too late to delete the referendum from the general election ballots or to issue new ballots,” the document states.
The document also asks that the court resolve the case prior to the certification of the ballot results, in order to prevent disruption for the Supervisor of Elections and the Flagler County Canvassing Board and confusion for Palm Coast voters.
If the court rules in favor of Lowe's complaint ahead of the election, the document said, tabulators can be programmed to ignore the results.
Lowe is not the only Palm Coast resident to file court case referencing the amendment. Another resident has also filed a civil lawsuit against the city charter amendment on the November ballot.
The Charter Amendment is to remove Article VI section (3)(e) of the Palm Coast City Charter. That section outlines limitations on the city’s borrowing power, specifically limiting the city to only borrowing up to $15 million at a time and prohibiting it from entering a lease-payment contract that is longer than 36 months, except with resident approval via a referendum vote.
Lowe's complaint alleges the ballot language is misleading and does not adequately explain the chief purpose of the amendment, which would remove the referendum vote requirement as well as the borrowing limitations if it is approved.
Palm Coast resident Jeani Duarte filed a cease-and-desist demand against the city council on Sept. 25, attorney clerk and acting city manager. The complaint asked for injunctive relief against the charter amendment.
However, Duarte’s complaint was summarily dismissed by France for being “legally insufficient.”
“It is nonsensical and any attempt to answer the complaint would prove futile,” France wrote.
Duarte amended her complaint on Sept. 30, alleging that the constitutional rights of Palm Coast citizens are being violated and asking the court to either remove or cancel the charter amendment.
Lowe’s case against the city of Palm Coast and Lenhart, however, is still moving through the court system. Both defendants have been served since the original complaint was filed, though Palm Coast has not filed a response to the complaint yet.
