Lakeland lawyer releases Hillsborough election chief from complaint over 'Zuck bucks'

A Lakeland lawyer has released the Hillsborough County supervisor of elections from a legal complaint filed over the use of private funds for voter-education efforts in the 2020 election.

Hardam Tripathi, the plaintiff, voluntarily dismissed all claims against Supervisor of Elections Craig Latimer in a notice filed Friday in Florida’s 13th Judicial Circuit. Tripathi’s lawyers filed a complaint in May naming Latimer and Vistra Communications, the company with which Latimer’s office signed a $2.6 million contract to lead a voter-education campaign.

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The contract resulted from a nearly $3 million grant the Hillsborough supervisor’s office received from the Center for Tech and Civic Life, a nonprofit largely funded by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan.

Tripathi’s complaint, filed by lawyers Charles Hardage of Lakeland and Seldon Childers of Gainesville, alleges that the supervisor of elections office and Vistra Communications have failed to produce material he requested under public-records laws.

In the complaint, Tripathi suggested that the Hillsborough elections office sought to promote participation among voters likely to favor Democrats through the campaign carried out by Vistra. Latimer’s office has rejected that assertion.

Tripathi filed the notice of dismissal jointly with the Hillsborough supervisor of elections.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Florida lawyer drops HIllsborough election complaint over 'Zuck bucks'