DPCF Statement on the Florida Presidential Preference Primary
On October 29, 2023, the final day of the Florida Democratic Party’s (FDP’s) 2023 State Convention, at a meeting of the FDP’s State Executive Committee (SEC), Chair Nikki Fried called for nominations of Presidential candidates to be placed on the ballot for the 2024 Democratic Presidential Preference Primary (PPP). One candidate, President Joe Biden, was nominated to be placed on the ballot. After calling for and hearing no further nominations, the nominations were closed. As a consequence, pursuant to Florida Statute 103.101(4) when only one name is put forward by the party, no nominating contest will be held. The Democratic Progressive Caucus of Florida (DPCF) finds this outcome to be problematic for a number of reasons.
On March 19, 2024, when Florida holds its Presidential Preference Primary, there will be several candidates running on the Republican ballot; however, there will be no Democratic Party contest. The unintended consequence of this will be depressed, possibly disastrous, voter turnout for municipal elections scheduled on the same day.
The impact of local government on the lives of citizens is monumental and attacks by the right on people’s personal lives and fundamental rights has precipitated a coordinated effort by bad actors on the right to take over local government commissions, councils, and boards. Without a PPP, even one that would be just a formality, Democratic voter turnout will be depressed which will hurt Democratic candidates running in local municipal elections.
Due to statutory deadlines, it appears there may be no way to remedy this situation, aside from possible legal action by Democratic Presidential candidates or disenfranchised voters. DPCF will support any such legal actions, and calls upon the FDP to express its support for any such actions in the interest of including all Democratic Presidential candidates on the PPP ballot who meet the criteria set forth in Rule 13K of the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC’s) 2024 Delegate Selection Rules.
The DPCF also calls upon the FDP to review and revise its rules and procedures for placing names on PPP ballots going forward. While it appears the procedures used in prior election cycles were generally followed this cycle, those procedures are also pretty clearly inadequate. A number of SEC members have said they did not understand until well after the fact the ramifications of the nominations and vote taken at the October 29, 2023, SEC meeting. The Agenda was less than clear saying only “Candidates for Presidential Primary Ballot.” In addition, the purpose of the nominations and vote should have been clearly explained to the SEC members before they were taken.
Although it is incumbent on the candidates for President to determine what is needed to get on the ballot in every state’s PPP and then do whatever is necessary to accomplish that, it is also incumbent on the states, FDP in this instance, to provide a clear process to do so. DPCF recommends that the FDP adopt the process set forth in Section II A & B of the 2024 Georgia Delegate Selection Plan with appropriate modifications to conform to Florida’s Statutes. It is clear and will help avoid misunderstandings on the part of the candidates and the voters who understandably may view this cycle’s cancellation of the PPP as a form of voter suppression, which Democrats have been fighting long and hard to end.
