Gov. DeSantis signs bill creating election police force, hiking penalty for voter fraud
Slim pickings: Ron DeSantis rejects math textbooks, leaves very few options.

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'We need to do more to ensure our elections remain secure.'

Florida will soon have a new election sheriff in town.

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday signed SB 524, which contains numerous changes to state election laws, including setting up a police force dedicated to voter fraud and increasing the penalty for ballot harvesting to a third-degree felony.

“We just want to make sure whatever laws are on the books, that those laws are enforced,” DeSantis said shortly before signing the measure at a sports bar and restaurant in Spring Hill.

The new law sets up the Office of Election Crimes and Security within the Department of State, the agency overseeing elections. In the budget for the next fiscal year, which DeSantis has yet to sign, lawmakers provided 15 positions and $1.1 million for the office, which will investigate reports of election irregularities.

DeSantis also highlighted a previous law passed in 2021 that banned the practice of “ballot harvesting,” prohibiting a non-family member from handling more than two mail-in ballots and tightened when drop boxes can be used by election officials. The new law increases the penalty for ballot harvesting from a misdemeanor to a third-degree felony.

The bill received a near party-line vote in both chambers — 24-14 in the Senate and 76-41 in the House — with Democrats opposed and Republicans in support. Only Sen. Loranne Ausley, a Tallahassee Democrat, initially voted in favor of the bill by mistake. She changed her vote after the roll call. Democrats argued the bill was meant to suppress their voters, particularly African American voters.

“The parade of bad bills just keeps coming,” said Rep. Fentrice Driskell, a Tampa Democrat. “As if targeting marginalized communities wasn’t enough, the Governor has now broadened his attacks to now include the voting freedoms of all Floridians. This bad bill encroaches on every Floridian’s right to a fair voting process free from arbitrary obstacles put in place by Tallahassee politicians.”

Tallahassee federal court Judge Mark Walker struck down part of the 2021 election law on March 31, ruling the changes were aimed at minority voters.

“At some point, when the Florida Legislature passes law after law disproportionately burdening Black voters, this court can no longer accept that the effect is incidental,” Walker wrote. “This court finds that, in the past 20 years, Florida has repeatedly sought to make voting tougher for Black voters because of their propensity to favor Democratic candidates. In summation, Florida has a horrendous history of racial discrimination in voting.”

The ruling required Florida to get federal approval for any future changes to parts of its election laws, but DeSantis brushed aside the decision in his remarks Monday, saying it’s likely to be overturned on appeal.

Furthermore, despite Florida’s relatively smooth election process in 2020, the state should continually increase election security, DeSantis argued.

“Twenty years ago, nobody thought Florida was a prime example of how to conduct elections, but we have become a national leader by running the most secure elections in the country,” DeSantis said. “We need to do more to ensure our elections remain secure.”

Gray Rohrer


4 comments

  • Would be two

    April 25, 2022 at 4:57 pm

    The more he passes the closer we can get it thrown out like his wife with Cancer

  • tom palmer

    April 25, 2022 at 5:28 pm

    Gee, I wonder whether those so-called election law enforcers will go after the repeated fraud by the GOP to encourage and sometimes bribe people to be ghost candidates to give them an edge in competitive elections.

  • PeterH

    April 25, 2022 at 5:28 pm

    An election police force to go after voting fraud in Republican strongholds.

    $1.5 million for 15 DeSantis hires to catch a dozen Republicans committing voter fraud EVERY TWO YEARS doesn’t seem financially reasonable……unless the new hires are friends of DeSantis.

    Didn’t the Justice Department catch the 5 fraudsters from THE VILLAGE?

    • Ocean Joe

      April 26, 2022 at 5:36 pm

      1. Brag about how perfect Florida’s elections were run.
      2. Get word from Bloat that the 2020 election was stolen.
      3. Riot at the capitol and try to hang the vice president.
      4. Blame the riot of antifa.
      5. Continue to cry about the election until 60% of the GOP falls into line.
      6. Release the Kraken and then get pants sued off by Dominion Voting Systems.
      7. Craft an election reform bill to satisfy Bloat’s claims that he actually won instead of losing by 7,000,000 votes.
      8. Make Bloat happy, make the base happy, waste taxpayer funds (probably from inflationary Biden federal spending) to accomplish it. Give Pudge a talking point for trip to Iowa.

Comments are closed.


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