House unanimously approves party flip-flop fix

The House on Wednesday unanimously approved a measure aimed at clearing up lingering ambiguity surrounding candidate qualification requirements.

HB 91 by Rep. Allison Tant tightens and clarifies who may qualify to run for a party nomination or appear on the ballot as a no-party candidate.

Florida law already requires candidates running in partisan primaries to have been registered members of the political party they seek to represent for at least one year before the start of the qualifying period.

For U.S. Senate, Attorney General and judicial offices, qualifying for this November’s ballot begins April 20; for most other offices, it begins June 8 — meaning the window for would-be party switchers in this cycle has long since closed.

But while the one-year requirement has long existed in statute, current law has not clearly defined how compliance is enforced or who has standing to challenge a candidate’s sworn oath.

Staff analysis published earlier this Session laid bare the flaw: “… a person who complies with the facial requirement of completing and filing the written statement cannot be disqualified from placement on the ballot, even if his or her statement is untrue.”

The bill addresses the gap by providing specific legal pathways to compel enforcement.

Under the bill, a qualified candidate in the same race or a political party with a candidate in the contest may file suit in circuit court to challenge whether the requirement was met. If a court issues a final order finding that a candidate did not satisfy the one-year registration rule, that candidate will be disqualified from appearing on the ballot.

An adopted floor amendment added a prohibition on candidates who have legally changed their names within 365 days of qualifying, with exceptions for name changes resulting from marriage, divorce or adoption.

A handful of situations in recent years demonstrated the need for the bill, like Wancito Francius running in the Democratic Primary for House District 107 in 2024. He had changed his voter registration from Republican to Democrat six months past the deadline.

The upper-chamber companion, SB 62, has cleared all of its committee and is on Thursday’s Special Order Calendar. If the measure is passed by both chambers and signed by the Governor it would take effect immediately.

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Florida Politics reporter Gabrielle Russon contributed to this post.