Call him Dan: Elections supervisor candidate prevails in lawsuit over his name

A judge dismissed a lawsuit Thursday that sought to get a candidate for Supervisor of Elections in Orange County removed from the ballot because he was using a shortened version of his first name.

Former candidate Cynthia Harris accused Dan Helm, a Democrat in the race, of not properly filling out the paperwork to shorten his legal name “Daniel” to “Dan” on the ballot.

The two have clashed in the courts before. Helm successfully got Harris, a no-party candidate for the elections office, removed from the ballot through litigation in August. Chief Judge Lisa Munyon agreed with Helm and tossed Harris from the race for not properly paying her qualification fee.

On Thursday, Munyon ruled in Helm’s favor again. Harris’ interpretation of the law was incorrect, and Helm was not required to file an affidavit because he was using a shortened version of his legal name, not a nickname, she wrote in an order.



https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2024/09/12/call-him-dan-elections-supervisor-candidate-prevails-in-lawsuit-over-his-name/