FL Gov Ron DeSantis Announces 20 Charged with Voter Fraud, First Charges Since Launching Election Crime and Security Office in July

Thursday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis held a press conference on the strides Florida has made since 2020 in election integrity. One of many things that Florida has done is launch the office of Election Crime and Security.

The office was created in a bill signed into law back in April. Funding for the office started at the beginning of July and the office has already started to charge those who have violate election law.

DeSantis reviewed why he and the legislature had been working on election integrity, “In 2020, Florida ran an efficient, transparent election that avoided the major problems we saw in other states. At the same time, the election was not perfect, which is why we continue our efforts to ensure the integrity of our elections.”

During the press conference, DeSantis announced that 20 individuals have been charged with voter fraud, either from registering to vote or voting in a past election where they were not eligible.

Praising the new office DeSantis stated, “Our new election crimes office has sprung into action to hold individuals accountable for voter fraud. Today’s actions send a clear signal to those who are thinking about ballot harvesting or fraudulently voting. If you commit an elections crime, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

According to DeSantis, the individuals who have been charged, and some are still in the process of being arrested, were ineligible to vote as they had been convicted of either murder or sexual assault. Those individuals are being charged with election fraud which is a third-degree felony in the state of Florida.

DeSantis said, “They do not have the right to vote, they have been disenfranchised under Florida law. Amendment 4 that passed specifically included people who have been convicted of sexual assault and homicide from being able to have an automatic restoration of their voting rights. They did not go through any process, they did not get their rights restored, and yet they went ahead and voted anyway.”

Attorney General Ashley Moody also spoke at the press conference, “As elected leaders, it is incumbent on us to ensure free and fair elections and instill confidence in the voting process.”

The full press conference can be seen at the end of the article.

This is another example of DeSantis pushing back against crime and corruption that the American people are yearning to see stopped.

DeSantis has been scrutinized for taking his own path, he is one of few Republican governors who have made moves to make sure the elections are secure. He has even signed a bill that makes ballot harvesting a felony in the state and requires identification to be provided with absentee ballots, something that is required for voting in person as well.

There is much speculation that the Florida governor may be considering a run in 2024 for president, but no official announcement has been made.

He was recently in Arizona to campaign for Kari Lake, who is running for governor of Arizona, and Blake Masters, who is seeking a U.S. Senate seat.

Florida has seen a massive influx of people moving to the state in the past few years. according to Move.org Florida was the number 1 state people moved to in 2020 and 2021. DeSantis has been governing the state since 2019, before this, he was a Florida state representative from 2013 to 2018.

DeSantis is seeking re-election as Florida’s governor this year, we will see in November how he fairs.