NANCY SAN MARTIN Miami Bureau

The city's voters must return to the polls next month because of cheating in last year's mayoral race.

Saying "overzealous or unscrupulous" supporters of both Mayor Raul Martinez and challenger Nilo Juri committed fraud in handling absentee ballots, Dade Circuit Judge Sidney Shapiro on Monday ordered a new election for Dec. 6. The ruling means voters in Hialeah, the state's fifth largest city, will once again have to choose between Martinez, who returned to office while appealing a 10-year federal public corruption sentence, and Juri, who filed the suit alleging ballot fraud.

Although Shapiro said there was no indication the candidates themselves had a hand in the fraud, the irregularities were obvious enough to warrant a new election.

"The evidence is clear that overzealous or unscrupulous individuals sought to influence the outcome of the election by improper use of the absentee ballot process," Shapiro wrote in his ruling. "Experts for both parties agree that a number of ballots were forged."

At a news conference on Monday, Martinez said he was not sure whether he would run again.

"I have not sat down with my family and discussed, `Is it worth it?'" Martinez said. "I feel confident that I can beat the candidate again. I have to make sure that I'm not doing it just for me, but that I'm doing it for the people and for my family."

If Martinez drops out of the race, the case will likely go back to court and the judge could either set up a qualifying period for other candidates or rely on the city

charter to fill the vacant seat, said David Leahy, supervisor of elections for Dade County.

The battle over who really won last year's race resulted in a two-month trial over the 28,807 votes that were counted. Juri carried the machine ballot by 105 votes. However, after absentee ballots were counted, Martinez was declared the winner by 273 votes.

Leahy said the disparity was not apparent at the time.

"There was a lot of absentee ballot activity. I think this decision will make sure that absentee ballots are tightly controlled," Leahy said.

Juri, who had wanted the judge to declare him the outright winner, said he was satisfied with the ruling.

"I'm pleased because the judge has declared that the election is void," Juri said. "I have been given the opportunity to go in front of the people. He [Martinez) is being punished."

The winner of the new election, which will cost the city between $20,000 and $50,000, would serve the three years remaining on the mayor's four-year term.

Martinez was a convicted felon when he took the oath of office last year to serve a sixth term as mayor.

He was convicted of political corruption in 1991 for extorting more than $1 million from developers in exchange for favorable zoning changes. An appeals court later set aside his conviction because of faulty jury instructions and juror misconduct.