Welcome to the Thursday, Sept. 17, Brew. Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:

1. Florida governor appoints Grosshans to state supreme court
2. Local roundup
3. Comparing stances: Noteworthy presidential candidates on DACA and dreamers

Florida governor appoints Grosshans to state supreme court

There are 29 states where supreme court vacancies are filled via appointment by the governor rather than by election. Florida is among those states and has had some interesting recent developments related to a supreme court vacancy.

On May 26, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) appointed Renatha Francis to fill a vacancy. On Sept. 11, a five-member Florida Supreme Court panel unanimously ruled against her appointment and ordered DeSantis to select a different nominee. The panel found Francis was ineligible for the position since she had not been a member of the Florida Bar for 10 years, as required by the state constitution. Justice John Curiel, whom DeSantis appointed to the court along with Francis, recused himself. Francis withdrew herself from consideration the same day.

On Sept. 14, DeSantis announced that he was appointing Jamie Grosshans to fill the vacancy. Grosshans is a judge on the Florida 5th District Court of Appeal. She was appointed by Gov. Rick Scott (R) in 2018.

The appointment will replace Justice Robert Luck. President Trump nominated him to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in November 2019. Luck is among 272 federal judges nominated by Trump.

Grosshans will join two other DeSantis nominees on the seven-member court. Currently, all six members of the court were appointed by a Republican governor.

In 2020, there have been 21 supreme court vacancies in 16 of the 29 states where replacement justices are appointed rather than elected. Ten of those vacancies have been filled. In 2019, there were 22 supreme court vacancies across 14 of those states.

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Local roundup

Here’s our weekly feature on local election previews and results.

Glynn County, Georgia

On Sept. 11, a Georgia Superior Court judge ruled that the authority to abolish a local police department is held by local officials and cannot be voted on via a public referendum. The court’s decision removed the Glynn County Abolish County Police Department Measure from the November ballot. The measure would have abolished the Glynn County Police Department and transferred all existing equipment, resources, and funds to the Sheriff of Glynn County.

The measure was initially put on the ballot through a vote of the Georgia State Legislature. Sen. William Ligon (R) introduced Senate Bill 509 (SB 509) on June 15. The Georgia State Senate approved it on June 18 by a vote of 46-1 with six not voting and two absent. On June 23, the Georgia House of Representatives approved it in a vote of 152-2 with seven not voting and 19 absent.

To date, Ballotpedia is tracking 19 local police-related ballot measures in 14 jurisdictions in seven states. These measures were proposed in the wake of George Floyd's death on May 25, 2020. Click here for detailed coverage.

Comparing stances: Noteworthy presidential candidates on DACA and Dreamers

In this week’s feature comparing the four noteworthy presidential candidates’ stances on key issues, we’re looking at DACA and Dreamers. As a reminder, Ballotpedia uses the following credentials to determine who is noteworthy: candidate credentials, polling, ballot access, fundraising, and campaign trail activity.

In the past few weeks, we’ve also briefed our Brew readers on the candidates’ stances on policing, coronavirus recovery, charter schools, and Medicare for All.  

Joe Biden (D)

Biden's campaign website states, "As Vice President, Biden championed the creation and expansion of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program; the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA) program; the Central American Minors program, which allowed parents with legal status in the U.S. to apply to bring their children up from Central America to live with them; and the creation of a White House task force to support new Americans and help them integrate into their new homes and communities."

Howie Hawkins (G)

Hawkins' campaign website states, "The federal government should end its defense in court of Trump’s executive order attempting to end the DACA program. The federal government should start properly administering the program."

Jo Jorgensen (L)

Jorgensen's campaign website states that children of illegal immigrants should be granted legal citizenship if they were born in the United States. Her website also says that illegal immigrants should not be offered in-state tuition rates at public colleges.

Donald Trump (R) 

Trump's campaign website states that "Under President Trump’s leadership, the Department of Homeland Security took action to wind down the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in an orderly fashion, following the assessment of the Department of Justice (DOJ) that DACA lacks legal authorization. This action gives Congress the opportunity to consider appropriate legislative solutions, as required by our Constitution."

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