Gov. DeSantis is again attacking democracy
FORT LAUDERDALE — Gov. Ron DeSantis trashed democracy not once but twice this week. He makes it look easy because he does it so often.
DeSantis’ destructive and politically motivated rampage against voting by mail by signing Senate Bill 90 was only one of his attacks on elections. The other is aimed squarely at Democrats in Broward and Palm Beach counties. It was his brazenly partisan decision to delay for nine months the special election to replace U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, who died last month after losing a long battle with cancer.
DeSantis’ calculated delay leaves about 800,000 Floridians in the 20th congressional district with no voice for the better part of a year. It’s unconscionable that a governor would punish the people of his state to score cheap partisan points.
Hastings represented the district for more than 28 years and was in declining health for a very long time before he died April 6 at age 84. He started out as a young civil rights lawyer on the rough and racist streets of Fort Lauderdale in the mid-1960s and was old enough to remember what it was like when white people made sure that Black people couldn’t vote.
The governor’s idea of honoring Hastings’ memory was to prevent his constituents, many of them Black and brown, from having any representation in Washington. If that isn’t enough to get voters fired up about the next election, what is?
DeSantis waited until Thursday to sign the executive order that sets the primary for Nov. 2 and the general election for Jan. 11, 2022.
“I know there will be a lot of folks that want to run for it,” DeSantis lamely told reporters Thursday. “So hopefully, that gives them enough time to be able to get on the ballot and do whatever they need to do to be competitive.”
Where Democrats see disenfranchisement, DeSantis sees another political opening, which is not altogether surprising for someone using the third-largest state as a place to wipe his feet as he aims for higher office.
It is no coincidence that most people in Hastings’ district are Democrats and that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi holds a precarious six-vote margin on Capitol Hill. The last three special elections to fill Florida congressional seats were scheduled much faster, and under different Republican governors, in 2010, 2013 and 2014.
By leaving Hastings’ seat empty, DeSantis does the bidding of the Big Lie Caucus — those same Republicans currently preoccupied with punishing Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming for standing up to Donald Trump.
Once again, DeSantis also displays contempt for county election supervisors, who refuse to play politics and strive for smooth elections.
“These are not helpful dates, not helpful at all,” said Palm Beach Supervisor Wendy Link, who was appointed by DeSantis before she won a four-year term last fall. “Having said that, we will follow the law.” Link and Supervisor Joe Scott in
Broward both suggested a faster timetable, with a primary on Aug. 31 and the general election Nov. 2. (Scott initially suggested Nov. 2 and Jan. 11 to the state, but after talking with Link, he quickly endorsed the earlier dates in an e-mail to the state Division of Elections.)
On April 19, Link emailed state elections director Maria Matthews: “This will confirm that both Supervisor Scott and I have confirmed with our respective superintendents that they can make August 31st work for a special primary election. The same is true for a November 2nd general election. Of course, the earlier we have confirmation from the Governor’s office as to what dates he chooses, the easier it will be for everyone to prepare.”
Link said the Jan. 11 date means early voting sites will be open New Year’s Day, and that the holiday season of Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas and New Year’s will be disrupted for the necessary work of elections employees and poll workers.
The district is so overwhelmingly Democratic that the eventual winner is almost certain to be chosen in the primary. But by law, the next member of Congress cannot be sworn in until late January, to allow the 10 days for overseas and military ballots to be counted and for final results to be certified by the state.
Here’s where things get more complicated and reveal even greater destruction by DeSantis’ cynical decision.
All of the best-known candidates for Hastings’ seat currently hold public office. They must resign to run for Congress, which will create a domino effect of more vacancies including at least three in the Legislature — all of them held by Democrats.
If those elections are on the same timetable as the congressional race, it means at least three seats will be unoccupied for the first weeks of the 2022 session, when the Legislature will redraw legislative and congressional districts to reflect population changes. That definitely is the worst time for anyone to be unrepresented in Tallahassee, but that’s the last thing on DeSantis’ mind.
When DeSantis became the 46th governor of Florida, he raised his right hand, put his left hand on the Bible and said these words: “I will well and faithfully perform the duties of governor on which I am now about to enter, so help me God.”
Well and faithfully. A governor who treats people the way DeSantis did this week is not living up to his oath of office.