The suit was filed by Frank Bach and George Brown, two registered Democrats in Tallahassee, against Sanders, the Florida Democratic Party, the Democratic National Committee and Florida’s Secretary of State Laurel Lee. Bach and Brown are seeking to stop the party from awarding any delegates to Sanders. They argue that Florida law doesn’t provide a way for an independent candidate to run in the Democratic primary.
“Defendant Sanders is clearly an independent and is clearly not a Democrat, by his own definition,” the lawsuit says. “His current ‘day job’ is as a United States senator and he has consistently, proudly asserted his service in that role as independent.”
Florida’s primary is March 17 and ballots have already been mailed to voters. So far, over 244,000 votes have been received, according to Politico. The suit would block the state from counting any votes already cast for Sanders.
Though Bach and Brown claim Florida law should keep an independent from running as a Democrat, the Florida Democratic Party says the law gives parties the right to choose their ballot. The party has condemned the lawsuit, calling it “ridiculous,” according to the Tallahassee Democrat.
“The Florida Democratic Party Executive Committee voted unanimously to place Senator Sanders on the Florida ballot,” Juan Peñalosa, executive director of the Florida Democratic Party told the paper. “Votes cast for the Senator are valid and must be counted.”
Newsweek reached out to the Sanders campaign for comment, but did not hear back by publication time.
News of the lawsuit comes two days after Sanders made controversial comments about former Cuban leader Fidel Castro. In Sunday’s episode of 60 Minutes, Sanders told Anderson Cooper that Castro had made improvements to the lives of Cuba’s citizens.
“We’re very opposed to the authoritarian nature of Cuba. But you know, it’s unfair to simply say everything was bad,” Sanders said. “When Fidel Castro came into office, you know what he did? He had a massive literacy program. Is that a bad thing?”
Florida Democratic Representatives Debbie Mucarsel-Powell and Donna Shalala criticized Sanders for his remarks, calling them “absolutely unacceptable.”
“The Castro regime murdered and jailed dissidents, and caused unspeakable harm to too many South Florida families,” Mucarsel-Powell wrote. “To this day, it remains an authoritarian regime that oppresses its people, subverts the free press, and stifles a free society.”
Shalala said she hopes that Sanders will “take time to speak to some of my constituents before he decides to sing the praises of a murderous tyrant like Fidel Castro.” Both Mucarsel-Powell and Castro represent districts in Florida with a large Cuban population.
