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LUCY MORGAN and JONI JAMESThe lawsuit is at least the fourth pending against Secretary of State Glenda Hood before the Nov. 2 election.
TALLAHASSEE - As Florida inches closer to the presidential election, lawsuits are piling up against Secretary of State Glenda Hood.
On Thursday, the Florida Democratic Party filed the latest in a series of lawsuits that will be heard in state and federal courtrooms over the next few days.
The increasing number of suits is reminiscent of the 2000 election, when dozens of lawsuits were filed over a recount that saw President Bush win by 537 votes.
Except this time the lawsuits are coming well before the Nov. 2 election.
The courtroom battles include:
A federal lawsuit filed in Tallahassee by Democrats challenging the way Hood's office has handled voter registration forms.
Hood has recommended county election officials reject forms on which voters did not check a box identifying themselves as U.S. citizens. State election officials say the forms are incomplete and cannot be accepted.
Democrats say the forms include an oath voters sign that they are citizens. A voter who signs an untrue statment risks prosecution for perjury.
U.S. District Judge Stephan Mickle has given lawyers for Hood until Tuesday to respond.
A Democratic Party challenge in federal court of the rules Hood established for provisional ballots, which are used when elections officials cannot find a voter's name on voting rolls. She says they cannot be counted unless voters file the ballot in their home precincts. Democrats say the rule violates the U.S. Constitution and federal voting laws.
The suit, filed in federal court a week ago, alleges that Florida's rule could block legally registered voters from having their votes count. U.S. District Judge Robert L. Hinkle of Tallahassee will hear from lawyers for both sides today.
A lawsuit in state court over provisional ballots, filed by labor unions, is scheduled for a hearing before the Florida Supreme Court on Wednesday.
The unions contend Hood's provisional ballot rules violate the Florida Constitution and state laws which require only that voters cast ballots in their home counties. Hood's office says Florida law requires the ballots be cast in home precincts.
A lawsuit filed by the Democratic Party in state court is scheduled for a hearing early today before Tallahassee Circuit Judge Janet Ferris. It challenges a ruling by Hood that has blocked Democrats from replacing Jim Stork, who dropped out of the race against U.S. Rep. Clay Shaw of Fort Lauderdale.
Hood said Democrats could not replace Stork with another candidate because Stork waited until after a Sept. 21 deadline to try and withdraw.
Meanwhile, problems continue to surface as elections officials check voter registration forms turned in by Monday's deadline.
Duval County officials asked state prosecutors Thursday to investigate possible voter fraud involving 25 registration forms that appear to have bogus addresses, including some that match a public park, a parking lot and a Jacksonville utilities building.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.