Overview
- Circuit Judge David Frank denied Lt. Gov. Jay Collins’ challenge in a 25‑page order issued Monday that found Collins did not present enough evidence to overcome Florida’s legal presumptions favoring a candidate’s continued residency.
- Frank credited Fishback’s sworn testimony that he never intended to abandon Florida domicile and held that Florida law places the burden on a challenger to prove a change of legal domicile.
- At an eight‑hour July 21 hearing, Collins’ team entered voter registration, mortgage, tax and homestead records and presented a forensic examiner who said the D.C. voter form likely bore Fishback’s signature while Fishback acknowledged voting in D.C. in 2020 and claiming a D.C. homestead exemption after buying a condo in 2021.
- The judge warned those D.C. records could trigger separate regulatory, civil or criminal consequences for Fishback under other laws, and Fishback also faces unrelated financial judgments and unpaid legal bills tied to a dispute with Greenlight Capital.
- The decision keeps ballots intact with early mailings largely complete, preserves voters’ ability to decide the race where Rep. Byron Donalds leads in polls, and leaves Collins the option to appeal before the Aug. 18 primary.