{"id":2465214,"date":"2025-07-22T12:16:01","date_gmt":"2025-07-22T16:16:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/court-miamis-suspension-of-2025-elections-is-illegal\/"},"modified":"2025-07-22T12:18:26","modified_gmt":"2025-07-22T16:18:26","slug":"court-miamis-suspension-of-2025-elections-is-illegal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/court-miamis-suspension-of-2025-elections-is-illegal\/","title":{"rendered":"Court: Miami&#8217;s Suspension Of 2025 Elections Is Illegal"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcourt-miamis-suspension-of-2025-elections-is-illegal%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2465214&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A Florida judge ruled that Miami&#8217;s unilateral decision to postpone its 2025 municipal elections is illegal. Judge Valerie Manno Schurr stated that changing election dates or extending current officials&#8217; terms requires approval from Miami voters through an amendment to the city&#8217;s charter, as outlined in the Miami-Dade County Home Rule Charter.The Miami City Commission had voted 3-2 to shift elections from odd to even years to align with federal elections, effectively extending terms for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/portland-mayor-ted-wheeler-pepper-sprays-man-stalking-him-at-restaurant\/\" title=\"Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler Pepper Sprays Man Stalking Him At Restaurant\">current mayor<\/a> and commissioners by one year without a public vote. Mayoral candidate Emilio Gonz\u00e1lez filed a lawsuit, arguing that this move bypassed constitutional and charter provisions, likening the act to authoritarian tactics. Despite criticism, including from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Attorney General James Uthmeier, city officials defended the decision and plan to appeal the ruling.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:North_View_of_Miami_and_Miami_River_from_1st_St_20160709_1.jpg\">DXR\/Wikimedia Commons\/<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/deed.en\">CC BY-SA 4.0<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/07\/22\/court-miamis-suspension-of-2025-elections-is-illegal\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Court:%20Miami%E2%80%99s%20Suspension%20Of%202025%20Elections%20Is%20Illegal&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/07\/22\/court-miamis-suspension-of-2025-elections-is-illegal\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=Court:%20Miami%E2%80%99s%20Suspension%20Of%202025%20Elections%20Is%20Illegal&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/07\/22\/court-miamis-suspension-of-2025-elections-is-illegal\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\" https:><\/path><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/07\/22\/court-miamis-suspension-of-2025-elections-is-illegal\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=Court:%20Miami%E2%80%99s%20Suspension%20Of%202025%20Elections%20Is%20Illegal&amp;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/07\/22\/court-miamis-suspension-of-2025-elections-is-illegal\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &amp; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>The city of Miami&rsquo;s unilateral decision to suspend its 2025 municipal elections is illegal, a Florida judge ruled Monday. <\/p>\n<p>Writing for Florida&rsquo;s 11th Circuit, Judge Valerie Manno Schurr determined that the Magic City&rsquo;s bid to move its previously scheduled November elections to next year (and by default, extend the terms of its <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >current local officeholders<\/a>) is at odds with the locality&rsquo;s charter. More specifically, she ruled that any such changes to the city&rsquo;s municipal election dates must first be approved by Miami voters. <\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-851145512\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&ldquo;The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/court-declares-laws-banning-handgun-sales-to-people-under-21-unconstitutional\/\" title=\"Court Declares Laws Banning Handgun Sales To People Under 21 Unconstitutional\">court declares<\/a> that the City of Miami cannot change the dates of municipal elections or terms of offices for the city&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/is-the-democrats-election-heist-too-big-to-fail\/\" title=\"Is the Democrats\u2019 ... Heist \u2018Too Big to Fail\u2019?\">elected officials<\/a> without amending the City of Miami municipal charter through the process set forth in section 6.03 of the Miami-Dade County Home Rule Charter, which requires approval by the electorate,&rdquo; Manno Schurr <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/news\/2025\/jul\/22\/judge-forces-miami-hold-regularly-scheduled-election\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wrote<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/news\/2025\/jul\/22\/judge-forces-miami-hold-regularly-scheduled-election\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Washington Times<\/a>, &ldquo;The city commission had voted 3-2 to move elections from their current odd years to even years, matching them up with federal elections. They decided that meant the current mayor and two commission members, whose terms were set to expire after this year&rsquo;s election, would get another year in office to match the new schedule.&rdquo; <\/p>\n<p>The city&rsquo;s decision to suspend its November contests prompted Miami mayoral candidate Emilio Gonz&aacute;lez to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.miamiherald.com\/news\/local\/community\/miami-dade\/article309776915.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">file a lawsuit<\/a> against the locality. He alleged that the &ldquo;commissioners unconstitutionally bypassed the democratic will of the people in a way that the Florida Constitution, the Miami-Dade Charter, and the City&rsquo;s Charter expressly prohibit.&rdquo; <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Reminiscent of regimes in Venezuela, Nicaragua, Bolivia, or Cuba &mdash; the very places so many of Miami&rsquo;s people come from &mdash; those in power, while in power, forced upon those voters what they think is best for elections going forward &mdash; and secured for themselves additional time in power, without a vote of the electorate. That cannot stand,&rdquo; the complaint reads. <\/p>\n<p>City Attorney George Wysong has defended the commissioners&rsquo; decision to postpone the city&rsquo;s local elections, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.miamiherald.com\/news\/local\/community\/miami-dade\/article309065285.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">saying<\/a> last month, &ldquo;We believe it&rsquo;s legal and consistent with Florida law.&rdquo; Wysong&rsquo;s office <a href=\"https:\/\/www.miamiherald.com\/news\/local\/community\/miami-dade\/article310866950.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">released<\/a> a statement shortly after Monday&rsquo;s ruling indicating the city&rsquo;s intent to appeal Manno Schurr&rsquo;s decision. <\/p>\n<p>The Miami commissioners&rsquo; election shenanigans have prompted <a href=\"https:\/\/www.miamiherald.com\/news\/local\/community\/miami-dade\/article309065285.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">criticisms<\/a> from state GOP leaders, including Gov. Ron DeSantis and Attorney General James Uthmeier. The former celebrated Manno Schurr&rsquo;s ruling in a Monday <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/GovRonDeSantis\/status\/1947357833525084447\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">X post<\/a>, writing, &ldquo;Great to see the law and common sense prevail.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><em>For more election news and updates, visit&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/electionbriefing.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">electionbriefing.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-american-freedom-convoy-set-to-launch-on-march-1\/\" title=\"Exclusive: \u2018American Freedom Convoy\u2019 ... To Launch On March 1\">state content writer<\/a> for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Shawn Fleetwood<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ShawnFleetwood\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@ShawnFleetwood<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/shawnfleetwood\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/court-ruling\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">court ruling<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/election-law\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Election Law<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/elections\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Elections<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/emilio-gonzalez\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Emilio Gonz&aacute;lez<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/florida\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Florida<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/local-elections\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">local elections<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/miami\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Miami<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/suspended\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Suspended<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Miami&#8217;s suspension of 2025 elections ruled illegal by judge<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":2465215,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Miami.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[44459,4733,4207,10374,53182],"class_list":["post-2465214","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-2025-elections","tag-court","tag-illegal","tag-miami","tag-suspension-2"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Miami.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2465214","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/539"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2465214"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2465214\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2465218,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2465214\/revisions\/2465218"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2465215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2465214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2465214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2465214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}