Twenty Florida residents will soon be charged with voter fraud related to the 2020 presidential election and could face up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. The charges represent the first major action from the Office of Election Crimes and Security, a sort of “election police force” created by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) to identify, investigate, and prosecute voter fraud.
“This is just the first step,” promised DeSantis. “There are many more in the pipeline…We are not just going to turn a blind eye to this. The days of that happening in Florida are over.”
The twenty individuals are all ex-felons who voted in the 2020 election despite being prohibited from doing so based on the severity of their crimes. All 20 were convicted of murder or sexual assault – charges that exempt them from a 2018 law allowing some felons to get their voting rights back.
“They did not go through any process,” confirmed DeSantis. “They did not get their rights restored and yet they went ahead and voted anyway. That is against the law and now they’re going to pay the price for it.”
Next, the Office of Election Crimes and Security will look for illegal immigrants who voted in the 2020 election and for people who voted in more than one state. These common violations are not actively monitored by the US Government, noted DeSantis.
The Office is also tasked with monitoring the upcoming midterm elections, a responsibility Democrats fear will manifest as “election police” hovering over voters at polling stations.
As a whole, Democrats continue to frame Republicans’ attempts to preserve election integrity as a scheme to undermine Americans’ access to voting.
While the timing of DeSantis’s announcement was certainly designed to impact midterms, this is something that needs to be done. What remains to be seen is whether Democrats will cheat again with this much awareness regarding voter fraud.
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DeSantis announces 20 arrests tied to voter fraud charges
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ election police force announces arrests of 20 for voter fraud