There’s no time to add Republican Rep. Debbie Mayfield to Senate race ballot, state argues

by Jackie Llanos, Florida Phoenix
February 10, 2025

The Feb. 14 deadline to submit ballots to military and overseas voters is too close to add Brevard Republican Rep. Debbie Mayfield’s name to a special election for the state Senate seat she previously held, state attorneys argued in a brief Monday to the Florida Supreme Court.

In defense of Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd, the attorneys claim he held the authority to disqualify Mayfield from the Senate District 19 race because he couldn’t ignore that she wasn’t eligible.

The state’s response comes after Mayfield filed an emergency petition on Thursday, wanting the state’s highest court to ensure her name ends up on the ballot for the seat she held for eight years.

“The Secretary can’t certify the King of England (a non-U.S. citizen) or a notorious serial killer (a convicted felon) for inclusion on a ballot with the hope that a political opponent (if there is one) will file a challenge,” the response to Mayfield’s petition states.

At issue are the constitutional term limits for state lawmakers. Senators and members of the House can only serve eight consecutive years. While Mayfield met that limit in the upper chamber last year, she won the House District 32 seat in November. Because she is not the sitting lawmaker in the SD 19 seat, Mayfield is arguing that the term limits restart and that she’s not running for reelection.

However, state attorneys are trying to convince the court that reelection doesn’t only apply to incumbents and that she would be violating the term limits because her new term would start in 2025. Asking the Florida Supreme Court to dismiss the case, the attorneys insist Mayfield could have sought help from a lower court earlier, characterizing her timing as “inexcusable.”

“Put another way, Petitioner had Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years to think about her candidacy,” the brief states. “At any time, she could have sought declaratory and injunctive relief in circuit court. Or she could have sought an advisory opinion from the Secretary. Or she could have done both, if the Secretary’s opinion proved disagreeable to her. Yet she did nothing. Petitioner has now waited too long — until after governmental action forced her hand.”

A ministerial role

Mayfield maintains that her disqualification is political payback from the DeSantis administration for switching her endorsement in the presidential race from the governor to Donald Trump. Mayfield’s petition to the court states that Byrd lacks power to disqualify her and his job is to ensure candidates submit qualifying paperwork.

“Neither the Secretary, nor the Director [of elections] acting under his authority, have the right to disqualify Mayfield as a candidate for the SD 19 Special Election and prevent her name from appearing on the Special Election primary and general election ballots,” the petition states.

“This is because Mayfield’s Qualifying Paperwork was duly and timely submitted, and is complete on its face. As such, pursuant to statute, the Department of State, which has a purely ministerial role in processing the Qualifying Paperwork, is bound to accept it.”

The emergency petition targets Byrd, Division of Elections Director Maria Matthews, and Brevard Supervisor of Elections Tim Bobanic.

Gov. Ron DeSantis scheduled the SD 19 special election primary for April 1 and the general election for June 10 after Republican Sen. Randy Fine resigned to run for Congress. Mayfield’s resignation from her House seat is effective on June 9.

Mayfield didn’t respond to Florida Phoenix’s requests for comment.

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