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Judge: District 7 Election Results Put On Hold

MIAMI (CBS4) - A Miami-Dade circuit court judge ruled late Monday to temporarily suppress the results for tomorrow's District 7 race.

The decision came from Judge William Thomas after Ricardo Corona, an attorney and Spanish television personality, filed a lawsuit challenging the time period would-be candidates had to declare their intent to enter their name in the special election.

The qualifying period was only a day and a half long.

Corona says he arrived at elections headquarters and filed his documents at 4:58 p.m. on April 14, two minutes before the deadline. An elections worker told Corona that one of his forms was incorrect, and sent him to the lobby to fill out the correct form. Corona says by the time he submitted the correct form, it was stamped at 5:22 p.m., 22 minutes past the deadline.

Corona first sued to have his name included on the ballot. His lawsuit was thrown out, but Judge Thomas did mention that the time period in which potential candidates could file the necessary paperwork was much too short.

That's when Corona filed suit again, and this time. Judge Thomas sided with him.

Voters will still cast ballots Tuesday in the special Miami-Dade County Commission race, but results won't be know for at least another week, pending another hearing in Corona's case.

Former Miami mayor Xavier Suarez and former state lawmaker Julio Robaina are both vying for the seat left vacant by Carlos Gimenez, who is running for Miami-Dade mayor.

Click Here for more on Tuesday's Special Election.

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