The Florida Democratic party would not exist if a new Senate bill is passed and signed into law.
While it does not mention the Democratic party’s name, it would direct the Florida Division of Elections to “immediately cancel the filings of a political party, to include its registration and approved status as a political party, if the party’s platform has previously advocated for, or been in support of, slavery or involuntary servitude.”
Under the Bill, registered Democrats would be automatically re-registered as having “no party affiliation.” The Democratic party officers could reorganize, but only under a substantially different name.
There is little subtlety as to the motivation behind such a radical proposal: “For years now, leftist activists have been trying to ‘cancel’ people and companies for things they have said or done in the past. This includes the removal of statues and memorials, and the renaming of buildings. Using this standard, it would be hypocritical not to cancel the Democrat Party itself for the same reason,” explained Sen. Ingoglia.
The Florida Democratic Party issued this statement in response, “Presenting a bill that would disenfranchise 5 million voters is both unconstitutional and unserious. Under Ron DeSantis, Senator Ingoglia is using his office to push bills that are nothing more than publicity stunts instead of focusing on the issues that matter most to Floridians, such as reforming property insurance, addressing housing affordability, and combating climate change.”
They added that, “The sooner DeSantis and his puppets in the legislature learn that Florida is a Democratic Republic and not a Banana Republic, the better it will be for all Floridians.”
Former Democratic State Representative Carlos Guillermo Smith told WESH, “Republicans in Florida are so drunk with power that they are expanding their censorship agenda to even include abolishing the democratic party of Florida. If Floridians are not alarmed by what is coming out of Republican leadership in Tallahassee then they are not paying enough attention.”
