Florida is now a powerhouse bastion of Republicanism, mostly thanks to successful, charismatic GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis.
How so? Whereas Democrats used to lead Republicans by roughly 250,000 voters in party registration when DeSantis was inaugurated in 2019, as of July of this year Republicans now outnumber Democrat voters by nearly one million, according to Florida’s Voice.
This means “Florida shifted over 1.2 million voters, or 8.81%, in the GOP’s favor in pure registration,” the local publisher noted.
In other words, the state is now deeply, deeply red, with virtually no chance for Democrats to ever regain any advantage.
BREAKING: Florida Republicans break 960,000 voter registration lead over Democrats, leaving just 40,000 until a historic 1 million milestone
— Florida’s Voice (@FLVoiceNews) July 10, 2024
In fact, even the state’s capital county, Leon County, a longtime bastion of liberalism, is now trending toward the right.
“Florida’s capital county – where Democrats routinely pick up two-thirds of the vote and hold majorities on city and county elected boards – turned a lighter shade of blue last month, according to voter registration records,” the Tallahassee Democrat reported Thursday.
“[A] 20-year decline in the share of registered voters, combined with a dramatic rise in those who choose to identify as belonging to no party and the steady number of Republican voters, has reduced Democrats to precisely 49.859% of all Leon voters as of July 1,” the report continued.
Conversely, Democrats accounted for 53 percent of all county voters in 2016 and 67 percent of all county voters in 2000.
Democrats have for their part blamed this switch on DeSantis’ election integrity measures, or what they call “voter suppression.”
For example, a new law signed by DeSantis increased restrictions and potential penalties for third-party voter registration groups that engage in fraudulent behavior.
“Under the new law, these organizations must now re-register as a [voter registration group] every election cycle and provide receipts to anyone they register to vote,” according to Inside Higher Ed. “It also shortens the window during which they must turn in registration applications from 14 days to 10 and increases the maximum penalty for failing to turn these applications in on time to $2,500 per application.”
“The law places restrictions on who can handle and collect registration forms, too, making it illegal for individuals convicted of felonies to sign up voters. (Noncitizens were also barred in the bill from handling the forms, but a federal district court ruled that restriction unconstitutional in March.),” the reporting continued.
These rules sound fair and logical, right? Yet they are the exact same sorts of rules and laws that Democrats have found fault with:
Ron DeSantis’s voter suppression policy is working, and voter registrations in Florida are going down.
The far-right’s play for November? Win by shutting out Americans who oppose them.https://t.co/72DBTvSd0n
— Accountable.US (@accountable_us) July 5, 2024
“The law has had a chilling effect on third-party groups across the state, with some ceasing all voter registration activities out of fear of being hit by large fines,” Inside Higher Ed, a left-wing site, complained.
“The same effect has been felt on college campuses, where it’s common for student organizations to hold voter registration drives or tables during events like orientation and homecoming,” the complaint continued.
DeSantis has also been accused of “gerrymandering voting maps and gutting one of the biggest expansions of voting rights,” as claimed by The Guardian.
How did he gut voting rights? After Floridians voted to restore the voting rights of convicted felons, DeSantis passed a moderate law demanding simply that felons first pay back everything they owe to society and their victims before their rights are restored.
But according to the Left, even this is “voter suppression.” Never mind that over two dozen other states also require felons to pay back their debts first.
“One analysis found there are around 774,000 people in Florida disenfranchised because they owe money as part of their felony sentence – often more than $1,000,” The Guardian whined.
“The study found Black Floridians with felony convictions were more likely to be blocked from voting because of outstanding debt. Meanwhile, people with felony convictions face severe barriers to getting a job,” the whining continued.
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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