A Republican congressional candidate for Florida’s 6th Congressional District has come under fire for saying he does not believe hurricane evacuees from Puerto Rico should be allowed to register to vote in the Sunshine State.
John Ward made the comment as he and former state Rep. Fred Costello, who is also running for the seat, faced-off at the Mount Dora Republican Club.
The question was posed by a voter and Ward responded: “First of all, I don’t think they should be allowed to register to vote. And it’s not lost on me that, I think, the Democrat Party’s really hoping that they can change the voting [registration] in a lot of counties and districts. And I don’t think they should be allowed to do that.”
But now Ward is trying to walk by his comments, telling POLITICO this week that he now believes Puerto Rican voters are U.S. citizens and that they should be allowed to register to vote in Florida if they decide to become permanent residents of the state.
Florida’s 6th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Florida. The district stretches from the southern Jacksonville suburbs to New Smyrna Beach. It includes the city of Daytona Beach.
