A Florida Republican has introduced legislation that would effectively “cancel” the state’s entire Democratic Party.
Senator Blaise Ingoglia on Tuesday put forward the “The Ultimate Cancel Act” that would force the Florida Division of Election to eliminate filings of any political party that has “previously advocated for, or been in support of, slavery or involuntary servitude.”
The bill — officially known as SB 1248 — doesn’t specifically mention any parties by name, but Southern Democrats were known to have supported slavery back in the early to mid-1800s, before a decades-long party realignment that was only completed in the years following the height of the civil-rights era.
“For years now, leftist activists have been trying to ‘cancel’ people and companies for things they have said or done in the past,” Sen. Ingoglia reportedly told WESH.
“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.”
Under the bill, Florida Division of Election officials would be required to notify members of any such canceled political party that their faction no longer exists.
Members of canceled parties would then have their voter registrations changed to “no party affiliation.”
A canceled party could re-register with the Florida Division of Election, but the name of the new organization would have to be substantially different to any prior registrations, according to the bill.
The Florida Democratic Party quickly hit back at the legislation, saying that “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.”
A version of this report has appeared at NYPost.com.
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An increasingly contentious issue among Republicans in the state of Florida has reared its ugly head once again in the form of a proposition that, if enacted, could potentially cancel the party affiliation of registered Democratic voters in the state.
The proposal, written by a Florida Republican, seeks to strip the status of “self-identified” party members and replace it with the designation of “elector” instead. The bill, which was penned by State Representative Blaise Ingoglia, was prompted in part by the controversial changes made to the state’s closed primary system. The new proposal would mandate that all voters, regardless of party affiliation, must register as an elector in order to participate in a primary election.
This proposition has raised a great deal of concern among Democrats, who have argued that it could constitute voter suppression. The Democratic National Committee (DNC) has already denounced the bill, and the Florida Democratic Party has called it a “direct attack” and a “clear attempt to restrict the voting rights of Democratic voters.”
The bill is also receiving criticism from local voting-rights advocates who suggest that the proposal is a thinly veiled attempt to make voting more difficult for Democrats. The NAACP has come out in opposition to the bill, calling it a “clear threat to voting rights.”
At this time, the legislation has yet to be voted on or pass through the state legislature. Still, the fact that such a proposal has been presented has highlighted the increasingly contentious political atmosphere in the state of Florida. It is an issue that will no doubt be watched closely in the coming weeks and months.
