State appealing dismissed election fraud cases

The cases behind Ron DeSantis' voter fraud arrests is starting to fall apart.

The state has filed notices of appeal in two voter fraud cases that were dismissed after Miami judges ruled that the state did not have the ability to bring felony charges against two Miami area men.

Ronald Lee Miller and Robert Lee Wood are among the 20 defendants whose arrests for voter fraud and false swearing were announced in August as Gov. Ron DeSantis highlighted the achievements of his newly constituted elections police force. Since then, it’s come to light that many of the defendants were cleared at both state and county levels to vote, and even told by authorities they were eligible to vote.

So far, none of the prosecutions for these cases have resulted in any new jail time.

On Nov 28, Romona Oliver pleaded no contest to a felony charge of voting during the 2020 election while she was not eligible in a plea deal that allowed her to avoid further punishment, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

On Nov. 21, the election fraud case against Tony Patterson was dropped in Hillsborough County because of “information received” from the Hillsborough County Elections Supervisor and because he was already being sentenced to prison in a separate case, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

On Oct. 21, a judge tossed Wood’s criminal case and the state filed a notice of appeal Nov. 8.

Miller’s case was dismissed Dec. 7 and the notice of appeal filed Dec. 8.

Another motion for dismissal is on tap at the Broward County Courthouse for Terry Hubbard of Pompano Beach in front of Judge George Odom Jr.  on Monday.

All 20 of the arrestees in the August announcement had been convicted of murder or sexual assault. And, in some cases, it appears these arrestees were confused by the passage of Amendment 4, which allows felons to vote when they complete their sentences.

Subsequent reporting on the topic revealed that arrestees’ applications to vote went through the proper channels and received approval from both local Supervisors of Elections Offices and the Florida Department of State. One of the arrestees, Nathaniel Singleton, was issued a voter ID card from the Broward County Supervisor of Elections after he was arrested for voter fraud, according to the Miami Herald.

The Office of Election Crimes and Security was created in the 2022 Legislative Session, amid Democrats’ criticism that election crimes were not common enough to warrant the office’s creation which cost $3.7 million. The office’s first chief, Peter Antonacci, died in September, soon after taking on the position.