Late in the afternoon on October 15, a Circuit Court Judge in Tallahassee, Florida, disqualified the Republican nominee for State Senate in the 12th district, Jim Norman.  The lawsuit is Ambler v Election Canvassing Board, 2010-ca-3014, Leon County.  See this story.  Here is the 21-page decision.  Attached to the decision are 24 pages of exhibits.

The lawsuit had been filed by Kevin Ambler, who had lost the Republican primary to Norman.  There is no one on the ballot except for the Republican nominee, although there is write-in space on the ballot.  However, Florida has the nation’s earliest deadline to file as a declared write-in candidate of any state.  Two write-in candidates did file by the July 2010 deadline but they do not have active campaigns.

The decision says on page 21 that ballots will not be reprinted, and Norman’s name will remain as the only name on the ballot.  But a vote for Norman will be treated as a vote for whomever the Republican Party chooses to replace him.  The order says each polling place will have a “factual notice informing voters who would be actually receiving their vote when they cast their ballots.”