Jennings seeks suspension of Fla. court case

Democrat Christine Jennings has requested that her pending court case in Florida be suspended while the Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigates her contest of Rep. Vern Buchanan’s (R-Fla.) 2006 election victory.

Jennings’s court case has stalled for months. In March, the House Administration Committee assigned a task force to take up the matter even though the state had not completed its actions. The task force last week referred the case to the GAO.

{mosads}“It’s become clear that the GAO investigation is the best chance for a quick and fair resolution,” Jennings spokesman David Kochman said. “Congress has ultimate say, no matter what the courts do.”

Rep. Kevin McCarthy (Calif.), the lone Republican on the three-member task force, criticized the move.

“By suddenly giving up on the court proceedings while awaiting a ruling, Ms. Jennings is denying the task force crucial input from the courts that we need to utilize in our own deliberations,” McCarthy said.

About 18,000 ballots in Sarasota County didn’t include a vote in the House race, and Jennings contends that the abnormally high under-vote is the result of voting machines malfunctioning.

In the Florida case, she was seeking the secret software codes to test the electronic voting machines.