Democrats have been accusing Republicans of suppressing minority votes for the past several elections cycles, so when the Florida Division of Elections temporarily limited access to the registertovote.gov website, failed 2018 Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum accused Gov. Ron DeSantis of “voter suppression.”
Today starts National Voter Registration Week. So, the DeSantis Administration decides it’s time to pull down “RegisterToVoteFlorida.gov for “routine maintenance,” stated Gillum “Only thing routine is the voter suppression part.”
“Baseless,” said Sarah Revell, a spokeswoman for the Florida Department of State in response to Gillum’s tweet.
Today starts National Voter Registration Week.
So the DeSantis Administration decides it's time to pull down https://t.co/4fOOFLJm7m for "routine maintenance."
Only thing routine is the voter suppression part. pic.twitter.com/VGEvi0THEZ
— Andrew Gillum (@AndrewGillum) September 22, 2019
“RegisterToVoteFlorida.gov will be up and running this afternoon," Revell said. “This maintenance window will help ensure the site is able to handle the anticipated increase in traffic on National Voter Registration Day on Tuesday.”
According to the Tampa Bay Times, voters and “prospective voters” still had access to the website, and able to access and download both the English and Spanish PDF versions of the voter registration form.
But even though Gillum’s tweet accusing DeSantis of voter suppression appeared to be unjustified, many Democrats, including Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell are still sounding the alarm of voter suppression, saying that those “eligible” to vote should have “every opportunity to register & vote” for the 2020 presidential elections.
“We must all keep an active eye to ensure that all who are eligible have every opportunity to register & vote in this upcoming election,” noted Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell “So much is on the line!”
Since he lost to DeSantis in the 2018 midterm elections, Gillum and his Florida Forward non-profit has been targeting Republicans, including President Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis as racists.
Gillum’s group’s latest fundraising letter says that the Republican-led bill DeSantis signed into law earlier this year that mandates felons to pay their financial obligations before they can vote, is nothing more than a “Jim Crow-era poll tax.”
