A.G. Gancarski
Former President Donald Trump is ripping Florida’s certain-to-be-signed elections bill (SB 7050).
But he says it’s not for the reasons one might think.
On Truth Social, the former President panned the legislation as a move that “guts” so-called “election integrity.”
“I couldn’t care less if Ron DeSanctus runs, but the problem is the Bill he is about to sign, which allows him to run without resigning from being Governor, totally weakens Election Integrity in Florida. Instead of getting tough, and doing what the people want (same day voting, Voter ID, proof of Citizenship, paper ballots, hand count, etc.) this Bill guts everything,” Trump posted Sunday.
“It will allow dirty Voter rolls to get dirtier, weakens transparency, and is a total mess. It’s simple, all we want is a Free and Fair Election, and an honest count,” Trump added.
Trump’s take on the bill runs counter to the seeming intent of the latest changes to Florida election laws, in which the measures he advocates weren’t seriously considered, with the late-Session legislation focused on other matters.
The bill hikes fines on third-party voter registration groups, shortens the window to return mail ballots, and clarifies legislative intent that DeSantis can run for President while continuing to serve as Governor.
The former President’s assertion that he doesn’t care if DeSantis runs for President should be taken with a grain of salt, meanwhile, given an ethics complaint filed earlier this year by Trump’s MAGA Inc. The filing argued DeSantis has flouted Florida’s “resign-to-run” law while “skirting federal campaign finance laws,” adding that could present an “impermissible conflict between his public duty and his private interests.”
However, the Ethics Commission rejected the presentation as speculative, as well as rejecting the presumption the Governor had abused his public position by holding events in conjunction with his book, “The Courage to be Free.”
Ultimately, the complaint was considered legally insufficient.
—
Gray Rohrer contributed reporting.
7 comments
Donald J Trump
April 30, 2023 at 1:09 pm
Vote for me..the ultimate snow bird and carpet bagger. I can still win in 2024. The deadly riot and the indictments don’t matter. Trust me. Just send me money and I’ll make it happen.
Lex
May 1, 2023 at 10:20 am
Does Trump even know what he is talking about? Florida went for Trump. Florida’s election laws are very clean right now.
It's Complicated
May 1, 2023 at 4:20 pm
You are correct, Lex. Trump has no idea what he is talking about.
MH/Duuuval
May 1, 2023 at 12:00 pm
Buried in this law is a provision that allows Ron to remove a county supervisor of elections, I believe.
It's Complicated
May 1, 2023 at 4:47 pm
There is a link to the bill in the very first sentence of this story. I just read all 96 pages of the bill, and do not see any NEW authority granted to the Governor regarding suspension. He doesn’t need it, either. Article IV Section 7 of the Florida Constitution (adopted in 1998), empowers the Governor to suspend elected officials “… for malfeasance, misfeasance, neglect of duty, drunkenness, incompetence, permanent inability to perform official duties, or commission of a felony…”. The Senate then tries the case and decides to “reinstate” or “remove”.
In my memory, back to 1986, several County Supervisor of Elections – Democratic and Republican, have been removed for botching elections (misfeasance), by both Democratic and Republican Governors.
God wins
May 2, 2023 at 10:58 am
Every person in Florida is responsible for our tax dollars and where they go. How can the County Commissioners use PUBLIC money and give it to a PRIVATE corporation, (SOE INC) which is illegal? How can the State write a statute that is in conflict with the FL Constitution? The tax payers are NOT supposed to be forced to pay the State or County SOE’s to get these reports. SB7050 will make it so we can even get access to reports. No machines? then we don’t need reports. As long as FL contuses to use VR’s systems, Software, and hardware that is illegal we need reports or attorneys with a pair to sue these illegal companies! You can’t use public money and send it to private corps funded by private machine companies. We have a ton of work to do. We need numbers. https://miamiindependent.com/breaking-palm-beach-county-election-officials-caught-falsifying-machine-election-reports-as-pressure-builds-in-florida-over-discovery-of-massive-machine-election-fraud/
Election Integrity
May 2, 2023 at 11:11 am
Its true. This bill will weaken election integrity.
The bill removes statutory access by the public to the reports used by the people to investigate discrepancies.
Comments are closed.