# Ron DeSantis 2024 (Campaign suspended on January 21, 2024) **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [April 12, 2020, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ron-desantis-2024-campaign-suspended-on-january-21-2024/851592 "2020-04-12T00:26:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2022, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ron-desantis-2024-campaign-suspended-on-january-21-2024/851592/101 "2022-08-18T20:21:34Z")
Is this the same Florida where voters had voted to restore voting rights to felons who had served their sentences, only to be denied by the legislature? So those 20 voters caught may have been legal in a different workd? Duh, of course it is. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2022, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ron-desantis-2024-campaign-suspended-on-january-21-2024/851592/102 "2022-08-18T20:26:28Z")
> [@JohnGalt](#): > > Is this the same Florida where voters had voted to restore voting rights to felons who had served their sentences, only to be denied by the legislature? Don’t ruin the narrative! This isn’t about abusing bureaucracy to make marginal people’s lives harder, just to score political points. It’s fighting crime! > [@](#): > > In 2018, nearly two-thirds of Florida voters approved Amendment 4, which restores voting rights to most people with felony convictions who have completed the terms of their sentence. The amendment originally restored the right to vote to roughly 1.4 million people. > > But shortly after the election, the state’s GOP-controlled legislature [passed a law](https://floridaphoenix.com/blog/legislature-takes-first-steps-to-clarify-floridas-felon-voting-rights-law/) requiring that people with felony convictions [pay off all fines, fees, and restitution](https://floridaphoenix.com/blog/only-7-states-require-felons-to-pay-all-fines-fees-and-restitution-to-be-able-to-vote-florida-is-the-8th/) associated with their sentence before they are eligible to register to vote. After GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis [signed the law](https://floridaphoenix.com/2019/06/28/gov-desantis-signs-bill-to-restore-felon-voting-rights-critics-say-it-distorts-the-will-of-the-voters/) in June 2019, roughly 774,000 people who would have been eligible to vote were no longer allowed. > > Multiple voting rights groups brought [legal challenges](https://floridaphoenix.com/2020/04/27/a-federal-trial-starts-today-on-a-fl-law-that-opponents-say-unconstitutionally-restricts-voting-rights-for-ex-felons/) to the law, and in an [opinion in May 2020](https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/6923612/6502754-0-7448.pdf), a federal judge said Republicans had created an “administrative train wreck” and ruled that the people blocked from voting could still participate in elections. But a federal appeals court [overturned that order](https://floridaphoenix.com/2020/07/02/federal-appeals-court-intervenes-in-amendment-4-fight-casting-doubt-on-felon-re-enfranchisement/). The back-and-forth created [widespread confusion](https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/politics/2019/07/02/amendment-4-law-creates-election-confusion-florida/1622154001/)and left many Floridians unclear about their eligibility to vote. > **[Florida gave voting rights to people with felony convictions. Now some face...](https://ncnewsline.com/2022/05/02/florida-gave-voting-rights-to-people-with-felony-convictions-now-some-face-charges-for-voting/)** > > Florida gave voting rights to people with felony convictions, but now some face charges for voting; Amendment 4 ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2022, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ron-desantis-2024-campaign-suspended-on-january-21-2024/851592/103 "2022-08-18T21:22:51Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > But shortly after the election, the state’s GOP-controlled legislature [passed a law](https://floridaphoenix.com/blog/legislature-takes-first-steps-to-clarify-floridas-felon-voting-rights-law/) requiring that people with felony convictions [pay off all fines, fees, and restitution](https://floridaphoenix.com/blog/only-7-states-require-felons-to-pay-all-fines-fees-and-restitution-to-be-able-to-vote-florida-is-the-8th/) associated with their sentence before they are eligible to register to vote. After GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis [signed the law](https://floridaphoenix.com/2019/06/28/gov-desantis-signs-bill-to-restore-felon-voting-rights-critics-say-it-distorts-the-will-of-the-voters/) in June 2019, roughly 774,000 people who would have been eligible to vote were no longer allowed. Nothing wrong with that, that’s something called a “poll tax” which is a time-honored American tradition! 🇺🇸 [https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/amendment/amendment-xxiv](https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/amendment/amendment-xxiv) > The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay poll tax or other tax. Wait, what is this “Constitution” thing people are talking about, isn’t that just a Dungeons and Dragons term? (Sadly enough, this kind of law is also in place in my own state, Washington.) I guess maybe if you don’t call it a “tax” it’s okay though. Just call it a “gibblegorch”. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2022, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ron-desantis-2024-campaign-suspended-on-january-21-2024/851592/104 "2022-08-20T18:27:05Z")
Ronald’s ongoing efforts at bettering the lives of ordinary Floridians took another hit last week by one of those ornery judges who doesn’t appreciate the fact that Ronnie’s campaign ads across the state thank him for keeping the state free. See, his Stop Woke Act (yep, they called it that), which sought to prevent companies from making their employees feel bad about their color, was deemed some sort of dystopian overreach. > [@](#): > > U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida Chief Judge Mark Walker [issued a preliminary injunction](https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/22140127/preliminary-injunction-order-honeyfund-v-desantis.pdf) blocking the private employer provisions in the law, known as the “Stop WOKE Act,” saying it violates free speech protections under the First Amendment and that it violates the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause for being impermissibly vague. > > “Recently, Florida has seemed like a First Amendment upside down,” Walker wrote in the ruling, comparing the law to the fictional “upside down” in the Netflix series “Stranger Things.” > > “Normally, the First Amendment bars the state from burdening speech, while private actors may burden speech freely,” the Obama-appointed judge continued. “But in Florida, the First Amendment apparently bars private actors from burdening speech, while the state may burden speech freely.” > … > [The law prevents workplaces](https://thehill.com/changing-america/respect/diversity-inclusion/595732-florida-house-passes-stop-woke-act-to-limit/) from requiring employees to attend any activity that violates any of eight concepts, like instilling that someone bears “personal responsibility” for historic wrongdoings because of their race, color, sex or national origin. Glad he’s putting the state’s resources to such good use! > **[Judge blocks DeSantis’s ‘Stop WOKE Act,’ says Florida feels like a ‘First...](https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/3607213-judge-blocks-desantiss-stop-woke-act-says-florida-feels-like-a-first-amendment-upside-down/amp/)** > > CLARIFICATION: This story was updated at 8:58 a.m. to clarify the parts of the Florida law being blocked. A federal judge on Thursday blocked portions of a Florida law restricting how workplaces an… ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2022, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ron-desantis-2024-campaign-suspended-on-january-21-2024/851592/105 "2022-08-20T19:55:01Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > … (Sadly enough, this kind of law is also in place in my own state, Washington.) … As of the first of this year, [that’s no longer the case](https://www.sos.wa.gov/elections/voters/felons-and-voting-rights.aspx#:~:text=Effective%20January%201st%2C%202022%2C%20if,of%20total%20confinement%20in%20prison.) (I only know this because of an op-ed in the local fishwrap). So at least in this regard the Soviet is ahead of Florida. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2022, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ron-desantis-2024-campaign-suspended-on-january-21-2024/851592/106 "2022-08-20T20:37:38Z")
As someone employed by that government, I feel a lot better. Thanks for that. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2022, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ron-desantis-2024-campaign-suspended-on-january-21-2024/851592/107 "2022-08-20T23:07:28Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > See, his Stop Woke Act (yep, they called it that), which sought to prevent companies from making their employees feel bad about their color, was deemed some sort of dystopian overreach. No doubt every good Republican thrills to Ron DeSantis’ clarion call: _THE STATE WILL CONTROL **EVERY** ASPECT OF EVERY PRIVATE BUSINESS!!!_ The Republican ideals made flesh!!! ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2022, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ron-desantis-2024-campaign-suspended-on-january-21-2024/851592/108 "2022-08-21T05:16:37Z")
Some of the fallout from DeSantis’ voter fraud policies in this Miami Herald article that surprisingly wasn’t paywalled. > **[‘How did I commit fraud?’ Ex-felon voters confused by arrests, DeSantis’...](https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/article264698334.html)** > > When Romona Oliver registered to vote in early 2020 at the Hillsborough Tax Collector’s office, she was asked if she had a felony conviction. She said yes. > [@](#): > > Five of those arrested Thursday on voter fraud charges told the Herald/Times they believed they were able to vote and had faced no issue registering. They said they would not have voted had they known their previous convictions made them ineligible. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2022, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ron-desantis-2024-campaign-suspended-on-january-21-2024/851592/109 "2022-08-21T23:19:02Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > “Five of those arrested Thursday on voter fraud charges told the Herald/Times they believed they were able to vote and had faced no issue registering. They said they would not have voted had they known their previous convictions made them ineligible.” --from source above I know racism kills brain cells, but: how can anyone believe that such a scam should be supported? A state will register you to vote and then declare that you had no right to vote…??? If they register you, then you are eligible. How is this not enshrined in law? (I don’t mean just ‘submit an application to vote,’ obviously—I mean ‘the state sends you proof that you are registered’.) What’s next? Non-white people go to the DMV, take the tests, and are issued a driver’s license—then as they leave the parking lot are arrested for driving without a license? I mean, why _not_? ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2022, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ron-desantis-2024-campaign-suspended-on-january-21-2024/851592/110 "2022-08-22T11:34:28Z")
This. One could argue that this is actually a dispute between two agencies of the same government, and not “individual voter fraud”. But we all know the Election Police law was enacted as political theatre in the first place. Did I say, “we all know”? Yes, and to pre-empt debate on the clause, anyone denying this reading is being disingenuous and deliberately obtuse. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2022, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ron-desantis-2024-campaign-suspended-on-january-21-2024/851592/111 "2022-08-23T14:04:01Z")
[![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52305617371_8fe19efae0_z.jpg "20220823\_090231") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/68782016@N08/52305617371/) “Here’s looking at you, kid.” [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52304893147_0dff3941d7_b.jpg "20220823\_090216") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/68782016@N08/52304893147/) ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2022, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ron-desantis-2024-campaign-suspended-on-january-21-2024/851592/112 "2022-08-23T23:15:25Z")
In re Ron DeSantis’ “Dukakis” moment: The ad from which the photo is taken actually centers around Ron’s penchant for being rude to reporters. Presented for the excitement and approbation of right-wing blockheads everywhere, the ad contains several examples of Ron being really rude to people who have less than a hundredth-part of his power. In other words, Punching Down—just the thing to thrill the Republican base. The Top Gun gear is intended, one assumes, to reinforce the _OOOOOOO, He’s a REAL Man!!!11!1!_ vibe. Few thinking viewers were having any: > **[Ron DeSantis Releases 'Top Gun'-Inspired Ad And The Twitter Mockery Is Top-Notch](https://news.yahoo.com/ron-desantis-releases-top-gun-195447760.html?fr=sychp_catchall)** > > The ad ― which is called “Top Gov” — features the Florida governor griping about what he apparently thinks is the most pressing thing for voters: corporate media. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2022, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ron-desantis-2024-campaign-suspended-on-january-21-2024/851592/113 "2022-08-24T02:52:15Z")
Yes - ‘blockhead’ is still the best descriptor for this ham-fisted weasel. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2022, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ron-desantis-2024-campaign-suspended-on-january-21-2024/851592/114 "2022-08-24T03:48:46Z")
[[Album] Green Helmet Ron ![](https://i.imgur.com/Ow3MaO0.png?fb "Green Helmet Ron") ](https://imgur.com/a/YwxSFYR) ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2022, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ron-desantis-2024-campaign-suspended-on-january-21-2024/851592/115 "2022-08-24T03:58:35Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > The Top Gun gear is intended, one assumes, to reinforce the _OOOOOOO, He’s a REAL Man!!!11!1!_ vibe. 140 million dollar war chest, and the best they can come up with is this ad and “[Big Dick Energy](https://www.thedailybeast.com/kari-lake-says-ron-desantis-has-big-dick-energy-she-got-one-word-right)”? Between these cringe worthy faux pas and his overt authoritarianism, I think he’s exactly the right candidate for Republicans. Do another flying big dick ad, Ron!! ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2022, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ron-desantis-2024-campaign-suspended-on-january-21-2024/851592/116 "2022-08-24T04:04:32Z")
(Sorry, I thought we were talking about Texas’s governor. Rescinded.) ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2022, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ron-desantis-2024-campaign-suspended-on-january-21-2024/851592/117 "2022-08-24T11:56:46Z")
Ron Desantis is such a fucking tool. Jesus, I almost moved back to Florida 4 years ago. Saved by a preemie granddaughter. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2022, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ron-desantis-2024-campaign-suspended-on-january-21-2024/851592/118 "2022-08-24T18:01:27Z")
As opposed to Tiny, Really Unbelievably Miniscule Penis energy? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2022, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ron-desantis-2024-campaign-suspended-on-january-21-2024/851592/119 "2022-08-25T17:36:23Z")
Bleccccch: > **[DeSantis celebrates as most of his school board candidates win their Florida...](https://www.aol.com/news/desantis-celebrates-most-school-board-232500140.html)** > > Most of the Florida school board candidates backed by Gov. Ron DeSantis won their elections on Tuesday ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2022, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ron-desantis-2024-campaign-suspended-on-january-21-2024/851592/120 "2022-08-25T20:03:16Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Bleccccch: And if you’re wondering how well DeSantis’ school reforms are going, well… > [@](#): > > A Florida school district rejected a donation of dictionaries after putting a freeze on new books in libraries and classrooms as officials navigate a [new state law](https://www.axios.com/local/tampa-bay/2021/06/10/florida-critical-race-theory-ban-schools-ron-desantis) designed to make it easier to pull books deemed objectionable… > > The [new law](https://www.flsenate.gov/Committees/BillSummaries/2022/html/2823) requires a certified education media specialist to review and select all reading materials in schools. The school board has approved the job description for the role but currently no one fills the position. “We can’t take these dictionaries! What if they have words in them that aren’t government approved?!” Have I mentioned before how proud Ronnie is that he has “kept Florida free”? [https://www.axios.com/2022/08/23/florida-school-district-books](https://www.axios.com/2022/08/23/florida-school-district-books) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ron-desantis-2024-campaign-suspended-on-january-21-2024/851592.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ron-desantis-2024-campaign-suspended-on-january-21-2024/851592.md?page=7)