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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