Statements
Florida Democratic Party Chair’s Statement on DeSantis Setting Special Elections for South Florida Legislative Races
After months of delay, Governor Ron DeSantis finally set the special elections for three South Florida legislative seats that will become vacant in January. South Florida voters had filed a lawsuit against the Governor before he made this decision. The three district seats being vacated are in Broward County, Senate District 33 and two seats in Palm Beach County, House District 88 and 94 which have large Democratic constituencies.
In the Governor’s executive order he set the primary election date for Jan.11 and the general election for March 8. Clearly, this timeline coincides with the Florida Legislature holding its annual legislative session from Jan.11 – March 11, 2021.
In reaction to the Governor’s delayed and insufficient action, Florida Democratic Chair Manny Diaz issued this statement:
“It took a lawsuit for Gov. DeSantis to do his job in calling for special elections in South Florida. Even then, his actions are severely lacking and insulting to tens of thousands of voters. What he is doing is disenfranchising voters, denying them representation during the upcoming legislative session. He is silencing voters including an untold number of minority voters in South Florida.
“Taking a page from autocrats, DeSantis is stifling the voices of Floridians. He learned about the upcoming vacancies in July and it took him 87 days to call for a special election. Floridians are exhausted by his political games. This is not how a democracy operates, DeSantis must be removed from office next year. Floridians deserve better.”