A Florida Senate committee has recommended making it tougher for political candidates to switch or leave parties in mid-campaign, a move spurred by Florida Gov. Charlie Crist's bolt from the Republican Party to run as an independent for U.S. Senate.
The Florida Senate Ethics and Elections Committee also calls for a "sore-loser statute" that would prohibit party-affiliated candidates who lose a primary from re-entering the race as in independent.
"The issue is whether Florida law regarding candidates who change political parties while running for office is unambiguous and expansive enough to promote the state's interests in political stability and maintaining integrity in the various routes to the ballot," said a report released this month by the committee. "After careful review, some changes appear worthy of consideration."
The panel cited other states, including California and Colorado, that have stricter election laws regarding candidates switching or leaving parties.
The committee suggested that candidates be registered with a party - or to be a declared independent - one year before they must qualify for the office they seek. Since the qualification deadline for federal offices typically is about six months before the November general election, candidates would be locked into party or "non-party" status about 18 months before the final election, "effectively preventing last-minute party-switching for personal political gain."
Blah blah, yadda blah. I try to pass along only the more important political goings on, and a return to planet Earth is what such an election reform law would entail.
Charlie The Traitor Crist might not have been all that hot with regards to Florida's finances...even though the Gunshine State DOES have a balanced budget...but he was great guns when it came to his own campaign funds.
In other words, for those tuning in from Rio Linda, he was working with house money and what the hell, why not take the snowballs chance in hell.
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