TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The judge who will decide which ballots are counted in Florida's election is getting high marks from those who know him despite ruling against the state in multiple elections cases.
Federal Judge Mark Walker was recommended by Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Florida) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida), appointed by former President Barack Obama and confirmed on a unanimous vote.
Walker has made headlines with pointed opinions. He's ordered the state to give voters a chance to cure spoiled mail ballots, ordered polling places on college campuses, extended voter registration following a hurricane and declared the clemency process unconstitutional.
"He established the facts about how bad that system was," said Sandy D'Alemberte, former FSU president.
Walker received undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Florida. For eight years, he was former Florida Chief Justice Steve Andrew's law partner.
When Walker ran to be a state court judge, no one opposed him. He could end up hearing as many as seven cases involving the election, if not more.