After taking a tremendous beating in the midterms in Florida, Democrats will have to contend with a new challenge, one Florida Republican proposal to eliminate the party in its entirety, according to a bill filed on Tuesday (February 28).
State Senator Blaise Ingoglia (R-Spring Hill) sponsored the “Ultimate Cancel Act” (SB 1248), a bill to cancel the filings of any political party that condoned and supported slavery during the Civil War.
Discussing the bill, Ingoglia highlighted that during the Civil War, Democrats “adopted pro-slavery stances in their party platforms.”
He noted that the Ultimate Cancel Act would prompt the “Secretary of State [to] de-certify and get rid of the party.”
If implemented, the controversial bill would make any voter registered to a “canceled” party a non-affiliated voter.
Ingoglia added that it would be “interesting” to see if voters would return to the canceled party if they had the knowledge it was “advocating for the issue of slavery.”
The bill further suggests that the “canceled” party may re-register under a different name that has to be significantly different from the names of parties previously registered.
As expected, Democrats have criticized the proposal.
The Chairwoman of the Florida Democratic Party, Nikki Fried, noted that Republicans should have “shame” for “initiating legislation of this magnitude,” suggesting the move is “what a dictator does.
State House Minority Leader, Fentrice Driskell, called the bill “unconstitutional” before suggesting it is “meritless” and doesn’t deserve airtime because “it’s a distraction from the Republicans’ failed policies.”
When asked if he believes the bill would gain traction in the upcoming session, Ingoglia was coy, answering, “We’ll see.”
