Florida’s Lieutenant Governor resigned her position in March 2013, and that office has been vacant ever since. The Florida Constitution says that when that office becomes vacant, the Governor “shall” appoint a new Lieutenant Governor. On January 6, 2014, a Florida taxpayer, Barbara DeVane, filed a lawsuit directly with the State Supreme Court, asking the Court to order the Governor to appoint a new Lieutenant Governor.

The plaintiff, Barbara DeVane, points out that the Constitution provides that when the Governor is unavailable to handle a state emergency, the Lieutenant Governor has authority to act. DeVane’s brief also mentions the consequences if the Governor, Rick Scott, were to become incapacitated; the Constitution gives the Lieutenant Governor authority to act while the Governor is incapacitated. DeVane is a lobbyist for the National Organization for Women. Here is the brief. The case is DeVane v Scott. Thanks to Howard Bashman of How Appealing for the link.

The Atlanta Progressive News has this story about two civic activists who hope to get on the ballot for State House in 2014 as independent candidates. For more about attorney Randy L. New, see here. For more about Bill Bozarth, see here.

This George Will column is a virtual encyclopedia about the relative strength of the Democratic and Republican Parties at this point in U.S. history. The column has no thesis or recommendation; it is just a fascinating compendium of important facts. One of the most interesting points in the column is the observation that ever since 1860, the only two Democratic presidents succeeded in office by another Democratic president have been Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy. Yet there have been eleven Republican presidents succeeded by another Republican president.