State Sen. Dick Elliott said he will file a bill today that would shorten the appeals period for town elections.

He said his bill is sparked by what happened in Atlantic Beach when losing council members protested the election and kept the winners out of their seats for 16 months.

Elliott said he held off on filing the bill until the election was settled so he would not appear to be trying to interfere.

The winners were sworn in last week.

The appeal went from the town election commission to circuit court and the state Supreme Court. At each stage, the losing candidates were overruled.

The Supreme Court found no evidence of activities that warranted overturning the election though irregularities occurred.

The losing candidates then filed a request for a Supreme Court rehearing, and a reply took 2½ weeks.

"It is unreal what Atlantic Beach has gone through," Elliott said.

His proposal sets a faster schedule for appeals and protests. Those filing protests would have a shorter time to do so.

In the case of Atlantic Beach, "at every stage, they waited until the last minute to appeal," Elliott said. "The system has been abused."

A similar bill was filed by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Harrison. It has received subcommittee approval and is awaiting action by the full committee.

Harrison's bill would delete the provision in current law that keeps incumbents in office while an election protest or appeal is under consideration.

He said what happened in Atlantic Beach is an example of why the law needs to be changed.

All other elected officials in the state are seated after they have been certified by the appropriate election commission, so the change would treat city council members the same as others, he said.

Sherry Suttles, one of the winning Atlantic Beach council members whose swearing-in was delayed by the protests, said either bill is acceptable.

"I don't want anyone to ever go through this ordeal again," Suttles said.