Case 1:12-cv JAL Document 15 Entered on FLSD Docket 11/05/2012 Page 1 of 3

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1 Case 1:12-cv JAL Document 15 Entered on FLSD Docket 11/05/2012 Page 1 of 3 THE FLORIDA DEMOCRATIC PARTY, UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA MIAMI DIVISION Plaintiff, Civ. No. 12-CV JAL v. KEN DETZNER, SECRETARY OF STATE, STATE OF FLORIDA; BRENDA C. SNIPES, SUPERVISOR OF ELECTIONS, BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA; PENELOPE TOWNSLEY, SUPERVISOR OF ELECTIONS, MIAMI- DADE COUNTY; SUSAN BUCHER, SUPERVISOR OF ELECTIONS, PALM BEACH COUNTY, Defendants. DEFENDANT SUSAN BUCHER S NOTICE OF SUGGESTION OF MOOTNESS AS TO PALM BEACH COUNTY The Defendant, SUSAN BUCHER ( BUCHER ), in her capacity as Supervisor of Elections of Palm Beach County, Florida, by and through undersigned counsel, hereby submits her Notice of Suggestion of Mootness of the cause as to Palm Beach County and as grounds would state as follows: 1. In the early morning hours of Sunday, November 4, 2012, the Plaintiff, THE FLORIDA DEMOCRATIC PARTY, ed to Defendant BUCHER and undersigned counsel a Complaint for Temporary Restraining Order and Emergency Injunctive Relief as well as an Emergency Motion for Temporary Restraining Order and Immediate Injunctive Relief. 2. The relief requested in the Complaint and the emergency motion was to allow in person absentee ballot voting at the Supervisor of Elections Office through November 6, 2012 and to provide public notice of these expanded voting opportunities. As is demonstrated by the attached newspaper article in the November 5 edition of the Palm Beach Post (Exhibit A), the

2 Case 1:12-cv JAL Document 15 Entered on FLSD Docket 11/05/2012 Page 2 of 3 relief requested by the Plaintiff in this Complaint and emergency motion has already been provided by Defendant BUCHER in allowing absentee ballot voting from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 4, 2012 and again on Monday, November 5, WHEREFORE, inasmuch as Defendant SUSAN BUCHER, is already providing the relief requested in Plaintiff s Complaint and Motion for Temporary Restraining Order, it is suggested that the Complaint and Motion are moot as to Palm Beach County. Respectfully submitted, s/kenneth G. Spillias Kenneth G. Spillias Florida Bar No Primary kspillias@llw-law.com Secondary mlozada@llw-law.com Lewis, Longman & Walker, P.A. 515 North Flagler Drive, Suite 1500 West Palm Beach, Florida Telephone: (561) Facsimile: (561) CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I HEREBY CERTIFY that on November 5, 2012, I electronically filed the foregoing document with the clerk of the Court using CM/ECF. I also certify that a true and correct copy of the foregoing document is being served this day on all counsel of record identified on the Mailing Information for Case 1:12-cv JAL. Counsel of record currently identified on the Mailing Information list to receive notices for this case are served via Notices of Electronic Filing generated by CM/ECF. Additionally, courtesy copies have been ed to: Daniel Nordby, Esq. Daniel.nordby@dos.myflorida.com FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF STATE 500 S Bronough St Tallahassee, Florida

3 Case 1:12-cv JAL Document 15 Entered on FLSD Docket 11/05/2012 Page 3 of 3 Telephone: (850) Attorney for Defendant Ken Detzner Burnadette Norris-Weeks, Esq. lawyer@fdn.com LAW OFFICE OF BURNADETTE NORRIS-WEEKS, P.A. 401 NW 7th Ave Fort Lauderdale, Florida Telephone: (954) Attorney for Defendant Brenda C. Snipes, Supervisor of Elections, Broward County, Florida Raquel A. Rodriguez, Esq., rrodriguez@mcdonaldhopkins.com McDonald Hopkins LLC 200 S Biscayne Blvd Ste 3130 Miami, Florida Telephone: (305) Facsimile: (305) Counsel for Mitt Romney s/kenneth G. Spillias Kenneth G. Spillias

4 I I Mb)LiN I LLDMLLUI Elections office taking absentee ballots today bucners decision essentially extends early voting. Voters deserve to vote, she said. Case 1:12-cv JAL Document 15-1 Entered on FLSD Docket 11/05/2012 Page 1 of 2 By Jane Musgrave, Scott Eyman and DaraKam Palm Beach Post Staff Writers A day after a record-shatter ing 18,915 Palm Beach Coun ty voters stood in hours-long lines, believing it was their last chance to vote before Election Day, the unexp.ected happened Sunday: Supervi sor of Elections Susan Bucher threw open the doors of her main office and allowed peo pie to cast ballots. Bucher wasone of five su pervisors in heavily populat ed counties around the state to figure out a way around Re publican Coy. Rick Scott s re fusal to extend early voting an extra day. The Florida Democratic Party filed a lawsuit in federal court late Saturday, asking a judge to order Bucher and her counterparts in Broward and Miami-Dade counties to open early voting locations. While aware of the lawsuit, she said it wasn t the impetus for her decision. I got to the office on Sun day morning and there were people waiting outside to vote. And the last line on Sat urday in Lantana stayed open until 2:30 a.m., Bucher said. The voters deserve to vote, and since we have the ability to allow them to vote an absentee ballot at the counter, I think that s the right thing to do. While under no legal threat, supervisors in Hillsborough and Pinel las County were also al lowing voters to cast ab sentee ballots in person. In Orlando, a judge or dered the Orange County supervisor to open one early voting location that was closed by a bomb scare Saturday. The su pervisor there also al lowed people to cast ab sentee ballotsin person at the main office. Voting by absentee nal lot is different from ear ly voting. Early voting, which began Oct. 27 and ended Saturday, is just like Election Day. Voters fill out ballots and feed them into tabulation ma chines. They are alert ed if they voted for more than one candidate or otherwise fouled their ballot. On Sunday, voters filled out absentee bal lots and handed them to clerics who will talce them to the tabulation cen ter in Riviera Beach to be counted if all is in order. Legal observers ques tioned whether the cre ative way some super visors devised to get around Scott s refusal to extend early voting could set the stage for a suc cessful lawsuit if Flori da, as polls suggest, pro vides a razor-thin margin of victory to either Dem ocratic President Barack Obama or Republican challenger Mitt Romney on Tuesday. This is a hoolc for a post-election challenge, said professor Josh Doug las, who specializes in election law at the Univ versity of Kentucky School of Law. All 67 counties aren t offering vpters the same oppor tunities. You can t have a handful of couhties doing their own thing without any state authorization. However, Secretary of State Ken Detzner said supeivisors are free to run elections in their counties as they see fit. There is nothing improp er, much less illegal, about offering in-person absentee voting at some locations and not others, said Chris Cate, a spokes man for Detzner. Brian Burgess, a spokesman for the Re publican Party of Flori da, shared that view. As long as they re following the law, everyone wins, he said. Sid Dinerstein, chair man of the Palm Beach County Republican Party, offered a sharply partisan view. He said the Demo cratic Party s lawsuit and its ability to persuade elections supervisors in a handful of counties to accept absentee ballots Sunday smacks of desper ation. Florida s not com ing down to the wire, he said. We re going to win by two to six points. 1-le also said he wasn t worried the Democrats were setting the stage for an election challenge. If Democrats persuaded su pervisors in five counties to stay open, they can t later argue it was unfair to voters in the 62 other counties, Dinerstein said. If they want to whip people into a frenzy and force them to spend their days off waiting to vote, ICnoclc yourselves out guys, he said. And many people did spend hours in line Sunday and more could do so again today when Bu cher and others said they would again allow people to cast absentee ballots in person. By 3:45 p.m., the line outside the Military Trail office had grown to more than 100 people, shield ing themselves from the sun with fans and drink ing bottled water provid ed by candidates. I ve been standing out here for V/ 2 hours, Me linda Schooley said. The reason I m here today is that I work during the week. EXHIBIT IA

5 would be better than sim Democrat. counties. that doing his civic duty saw the line, he figured driving back to Jupi ply could hotter ter. It be on the recount in Florida voters have to be treat Court made it clear that and declared George W. ed the same. It shut down about 2p.m., according to the Miami 1-lerald. With only one ballotprinting machine, five hour later. pointment to pick up ab absentee voting. She County tried to shut down the operation. Let when doors of the elec date the demand. Faced them come in and vote. sentee ballots on Sunday. scheduled today on the tions office slammed shut voting booths and two staffers, spokeswoman Christina White said the visor of Elections Vicki doesn t announce it but, she said, if people stop an emergency hearing is voters who made an ap trast, voters reacted an the weelc, he said. workers in Miami-Dade Tuesday, said Joseph, a Although lines were ocratic Party. Once he Jupiter after his fian Stu Joseph drove trom Republican, cee, a got a the Dem call from local Saber Joe of Lake Worth said his wife gbt a the Democrat call Party, from and figured ic he it opportunity was a good vote. don t to This way I stop during have to work voting seemed long, to smoothly. go In con grily when overwhelmed us vote! many shouted office couldn t accommo angry the with an mob, reopened about office an Martin County Super- I years Davis said for she in-person has offered by her office, she lets About 20 did so Sunday. County Broward allowed County It and Leon will people absentee allow to person vote in today. he Douglas said can t federal judge imagine a order supervisors will resume early voting to if the Democrat lawsuit Party against Bu ic filed cher and supervisors in I Broward and Miami-Dade out the state began in ton, Douglas said. standards concerns me a chads differently. terpreting the infamous other possible repercus Case 1:12-cv JAL But, Document he said, there 15-1 are Entered on FLSD Docket 11/05/2012 Page 2 of 2 sions. After the 2000 bacle, the U.S. Supreme Bush the victor after can vassing boards through The lack of uniform presidential election de