\n\t\t\t\t\t\tFormer representative Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick has resigned from Congress. She was found guilty of 25 House ethics violations, including accepting improper campaign contributions and mixing campaign and personal funds. Her resignation comes ahead of what was to be a rare public hearing by the House Ethics Committee. With her resignation, Florida\u2019s 20th Congressional District is now without a voting representative in Washington, but government services for constituents will continue. The latest: WPBF 25 News coverage on PoliticsMichael Morley, an election law expert from Florida State University, said the former congresswoman\u2019s office staff will remain in place to assist constituents with federal issues. “They operate under the supervision of the clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives. But because there’s no member there, there’s no one to cast votes. There’s no one to introduce legislation. It’s really just a caretaker function,” Morley said. Under Florida law, the governor is required to call a special election to fill the vacant seat. This process includes both a primary and a general election and typically takes about five months to complete. “It typically takes about five months between the time a special election is called for, until you get the final results of that election. And of course, it’s up to the governor to decide when to schedule the election for,” Morley said. Despite regular elections already scheduled for August and November, Morley said the governor cannot bypass the special election process. “A largely overlapping process. That’s exactly what I would expect to see,” he said. It remains unclear when the governor will call the special election, but the process is expected to take months.Get the latest political updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\tRIVIERA BEACH, Fla. \u2014 \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Former representative Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick has resigned from Congress. <\/p>\n
She was found guilty of 25 House ethics violations, including accepting improper campaign contributions and mixing campaign and personal funds. Her resignation comes ahead of what was to be a rare public hearing by the House Ethics Committee. <\/p>\n
With her resignation, Florida\u2019s 20th Congressional District is now without a voting representative in Washington, but government services for constituents will continue. <\/p>\n