DeSantis' election police unit announces voter fraud cases
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday announced criminal charges against 20 people for illegally voting in 2020, the first major public move from the Republican's controversial new election police unit.
The charges mark the opening salvo from the Office of Election Crimes and Security, which from its conception drew widespread criticism from Democrats and voting rights groups who feared the unit would serve as a political tool for the governor.
DeSantis said the people charged were convicted of murder or a felony sexual offense and therefore exempt from a constitutional amendment that restores voting rights to some felons. He said most of those charged were from Broward, Miami-Dade or Palm Beach counties, all Democratic strongholds. He released few details.
The 20 people were among more than 11 million Florida voters who cast ballots in the 2020 election.
“They did not go through any process, they did not get their rights restored, and yet they went ahead and voted anyways," DeSantis said at a campaign-style event in Fort Lauderdale before cheering supporters. “That is against the law and now they’re gonna pay the price for it.”
DeSantis, an ascendant Republican and potential 2024 presidential candidate, pushed the state legislature to create the election police unit to address voter fraud concerns that have proliferated in the GOP following former President Donald Trump's false claims that his reelection was stolen.
Voter fraud is rare, typically occurs in isolated instances and is generally detected. An Associated Press investigation of the 2020 presidential election found fewer than 475 potential cases of voter fraud out of 25.5 million ballots cast in the six states where Trump and his allies disputed his loss to Democratic President Joe...