Case: Bill Nelson For US Senate v. Detzner
4:18-cv-00536 | U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida
Filed Date: Nov. 15, 2018
Closed Date: Nov. 30, 2018
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Case Summary
This case involves a recount conducted by Palm Beach County, Florida for a U.S. Senate race. The two major-party candidates were separated by a narrow margin after the general election. Florida’s Secretary of State declared a machine recount pursuant to Florida statute. One day before the deadline for the machine recount to be completed, a Democratic senatorial political campaign filed suit against the Florida Secretary of State, Palm Beach County Canvassing Board, and Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections, alleging that Palm Beach County had announced it would be unable to meet the statutory deadline for a machine recount and planned to cease the machine recount entirely. Plaintiff filed suit in Leon County, Florida circuit court on November 15, 2018, and the defendants removed the case to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida the next day. Plaintiffs alleged that Palm Beach County’s inability to conduct a machine recount violated Florida statutes and federal equal protection rights. Plaintiffs sought non-monetary declaratory and injunctive relief, including to require the defendants to conduct a full hand recount of all votes cast in Palm Beach County.
On the same day the case was removed to federal court, the National Republican Senatorial Committee intervened and argued that Florida law did not provide for a manual recount of all votes—only overvotes and undervotes. By later in the day, the machine recount had been completed and the manual recount had begun. At an evening hearing, Plaintiff’s counsel complained that although the County had completed the machine recount, it intended to revert to election night machine count totals, adding them to the totals from the hand recount for the final certification, and that the county refused to release the results of the machine recount. Counsel for the County Election Supervisor represented that the machine recount totals would be used in addition to the manual recount totals for the final certification and that the machine recount results would be released after certain internal issues were resolved. Plaintiff’s counsel expressed satisfaction that the machine recount figures would be used in the final certification.
After the election results were certified, Plaintiff voluntarily dismissed the action on November 29, 2018, and the Court entered judgment and closed the file on November 30, 2018.
Summary Authors
LFAA (8/13/2025)
People
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/13570314/parties/bill-nelson-for-u-s-senate-v-detzner/
ADAMS, JOHN DONLEY (Florida)
BARDOS, ANDY V (Florida)
BAUMANN, ANDREW BAUMANN (Florida)
BILIK, ROBERT ERIC (Florida)
DAVIS, ASHLEY E (Florida)
Documents in the Clearinghouse
Docket
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/13570314/bill-nelson-for-u-s-senate-v-detzner/
Last updated Nov. 6, 2026, 5:04 a.m.
Docket for: BILL NELSON FOR U S SENATE v. DETZNER
Case Details
State / Territory:
Case Type(s):
Special Collection(s):
Law Firm Antiracism Alliance (LFAA) project
Key Dates
Filing Date: Nov. 15, 2018
Closing Date: Nov. 30, 2018
Case Ongoing: No
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
Political campaign in support of Democratic candidate's election to U.S. Senate
Plaintiff Type(s):
Non-profit NON-religious organization
Public Interest Lawyer: No
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: No
Class Action Outcome: Not sought
Defendants
County
County Canvassing Board
County Supervisor of Elections
State
Secretary of State
Defendant Type(s):
Case Details
Constitutional Clause(s):
Other Dockets:
Northern District of Florida 4:18-cv-00536
Available Documents:
Outcome
Prevailing Party: None Yet / None
Relief Granted:
Source of Relief:
Form of Settlement:
Amount Defendant Pays: $0
Issues
Voting:
Case Summary of Bill Nelson For US Senate v. Detzner, Civil Rights Litig. Clearinghouse, https://clearinghouse.net/case/44768/ (last updated 8/13/2025).