ORLANDO, Fla. – Regina Hill is taking accusations of vote buying in an Orlando City Council election to court, hoping to get a judge to throw out the results of the race.
The former District 5 commissioner filed suit against the winner in the race, Commissioner Shan Rose, and the city of Orlando Canvassing Board, in the Ninth Circuit Court on Friday.
[WATCH: Regina Hill refuses to concede as Orlando’s city council race results are certified]
Rose won the District 5 election earlier this month with 51.84% of the vote to Hill’s 32.71%.
But Hill refused to concede the results.
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.
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.
News 6 has reached out to Rose, who is reviewing the lawsuit. We are waiting to hear back.
[WATCH: Shan Rose wins Orlando City Council seat over Regina Hill]
Rose won the District 5 city council seat in a special election last year after Hill was suspended over charges of defrauding an elderly person.
That case is currently ongoing.
In the city council election earlier this month, Rose won 1,225 votes, according to the Orange County supervisor of elections website.
Hill came in second with 773 votes.
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.
[READ the lawsuit]
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