ORLANDO, Fla. – A judge will review a lawsuit filed by former Orlando City Commissioner Regina Hill against Commissioner Shan Rose over the results of of the District 5 race.
The lawsuit was filed in November after Rose won the District 5 election with 51.84% of the vote to Hill’s 32.71%. Hill refused to concede the results.
Hill and Rose on Tuesday attended a hearing where a judge said they would make an order on the two motions by the end of the month.
Hill’s lawsuit accuses an associate of Rose of distributing flyers throughout the district that offered free health tests and screenings, as well as Visa gift cards worth $45. Hill says a “Support Shan Rose” campaign ad was featured at the bottom of the flyer.
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According to the lawsuit complaint, the flyers contained a phone number that was also used on Rose’s campaign account on Facebook and in promoting other campaign events.
Hill also says elderly residents at a care facility claim people associated with the Rose campaign collected vote-by-mail ballots without having the legal right to do so, known as ballot harvesting. The suit also says one resident reported that he did not vote in the race, but records show a ballot was cast in his name.
Rose won the District 5 city council seat in a special election in 2024 after Hill was suspended over charges of defrauding an elderly person. That case is currently ongoing.
The lawsuit claims enough votes were likely illegally harvested to change the election results or at least throw the election in doubt.
Hill wants a judge to declare the election invalid and either order a new election, or declare Hill the winner.