Claiming gender and ethnic discrimination by elections officials, a candidate for Miami City Commission has asked a judge to order new ballots printed that properly identify her surname and place it ahead of the names of her two competitors. Denise Galvez Turros says she filed a complaint in circuit court Wednesday arguing that Miami’s city clerk erred when he identified her last name as Turros. Though her name is reflected on the ballot as “Denise Galvez Turros,” it was placed third after competitors Manuel “Manolo” Reyes and Ralph Rosado because of alphabetical ordering.
Galvez is among those who believe there’s a tactical advantage in being named first on the ballot. She also says women who add their husband’s surname to their maiden names upon marriage should be properly identified.
So with absentee ballots already going out in the mail, she is seeking an injunction blocking the further distribution of ballots until new ones can be printed with what she says is the proper ordering of the candidates. Before filing the lawsuit, she sought this month to have City Clerk Todd Hannon and the Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections change the ballot.
Full Article: Hispanic, Female candidate cites gender, ethnic discrimination in ballot placement of her name | Miami Herald.