Official results are in for special primary election

By Jennifer Hunt Murty jennifer@ocalagazette.com

Arequired audit of the results of the March 7 special election to fill the vacant Florida House District 24 seat has found no irregularities in the voting. A further analysis of the voter demographics, however, sheds light on how pre-election maneuvering favorably set the table for the eventual winner while closing the voting booth door to many of the Black voters in the district.

Ryan Chamberlin, a political activist and business owner, defeated Jose Juarez, Charlie Stone, Stephen Pyles and Justin Albright in the Republican primary. Voter turnout was low, with only 11,098 voting out of the 61,421 registered Republican voters in District 24.

The primary was only open to Republicans because of a loophole that closes primaries upon the filing of a write-in candidate. Robert “Foxy” Fox, a Republican, told the “Gazette” previously he was “duped” by Chamberlin’s campaign manager into filing to run as a write-in candidate. A review of the voter demographics for the district shows the move significantly impacted Black voters. Of the 11,286 Black voters in the district, only 636 are registered as Republicans.

Ultimately, only 38 Black voters participated in the special primary election, according to voter demographic reports provided by the Marion County Supervisor of Elections Office.

Of the 11,109 voters who participated in the special primary election, 10,485 were white. Also, voters under the age of 46 who participated in the election only made up 6% of the total votes.

Had the primary not been closed, registered Democrat, Independent and nonparty voters would have outnumbered registered Republicans in the district. However, their only choice would have been which Republican to vote for because there was no Democratic candidate in the race.

As for the validation of the primary election, on March 17 the canvassing board consisting of Marion County Judge Robert See Election, page A2