TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Florida House approved legislation aimed at barring social media companies from deplatforming political candidates, a measure initially called for by Gov. Ron DeSantis that is now eligible for his signature.

The governor's request for a crackdown came in the wake of former President Donald Trump's suspension from Facebook and Twitter in January. The companies said Trump had violated their policies by posting content that had the potential to incite violence.

But Republicans have accused the platforms of censoring political speech. Under the measure, they would be forbidden to suspend the accounts of candidates for more than 60 days before an election has been resolved.

"If you vote against this bill, you're voting against freedom of speech. You're voting against equal protection. You're voting for censorship," Rep. Thad Altman (R-Melbourne) argued during a lengthy floor debate.

It is unclear how the deplatforming ban would be enforced by Florida authorities, given that the most popular social media platforms are run by California-based companies.

Democrats dismissed the bill as little more than political catnip for Trump supporters still in denial over the results of the 2020 presidential election and said it smacked of the very sort of big-government mandate Republicans usually abhor.

"We're following suit in what other authoritarian governments have done in telling companies to censor their own free speech and their own protocols," Rep. Anna Eskamani (D-Orlando) said.

The lower chamber also passed a set of mail-in voting restrictions the Senate approved Monday. Among other things, they would eliminate ballot drop boxes and require voters who want to vote by mail to request a ballot every year, instead of the current two-year request timeframe.

Republicans have been challenged to explain why the reforms are needed, given that Floridians voted by mail in record numbers during a 2020 election cycle state election officials said ran smoothly and securely.

During Wednesday's debate, Democrats suggested they knew the reason.

"What's the problem that we're trying to fix?" asked Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith (D-Orlando). "Oh, here's the problem: Florida Democrats cast 600,000 more vote-by-mail ballots in Florida."

Far from suppressing the vote, supporters of the reforms said they are needed to provide Floridians with assurance that elections in America's preeminent swing state are secure.

"We are here for one reason only: to make it harder to vote illegally in the state of Florida," Rep. Tommy Gregory (R-Sarasota) said.

The reforms are part of a broader election reform bill that is expected to be approved by the Senate, then sent to the governor's desk.