Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announces 20 people statewide have been charged with voter fraud after being convicted of murder or sexual assault
- The governor did not say which elections they voted in, but said they were from Broward, Palm Beach and Miami Dade counties
- He said they were arrested for voting “because they were convicted of murder or sexual assault.”
- “You haven’t gone through a process. Their rights were not restored to them, and they went ahead and voted anyway,” DeSantis said
- The governor said people could face a third-degree felony with fines of up to $5,000 and up to five years in prison
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Thursday that 20 people in his state have been charged with voter fraud.
The governor didn’t say which elections they voted in, but said they came from Broward, Palm Beach and Miami Dade counties and were arrested for voting “because they were convicted of murder or sexual assault.”
Floridians passed a constitutional amendment that would restore felons’ voting rights after they have served their sentences and paid all fines, fees and reparations, but those convicted of a sex offense or murder are forever barred from voting, so be it for they are granted a pardon to do so.
“You haven’t gone through a process. Their rights were not restored to them, and they went ahead and voted anyway,” DeSantis said. “It’s against the law and now they’re going to pay the price.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Thursday that 20 people in his state have been charged with voter fraud
The governor didn’t say which elections they voted in, but said they were from Broward, Palm Beach and Miami Dade counties and were arrested for voting “because they were convicted of murder or sexual assault.”
The governor said people could face a third-degree felony with fines of up to $5,000 and up to five years in prison.
DeSantis also said the state is requiring all 67 election enforcement agencies to keep records of the 2020 election.
He commended the work of the new Bureau of Electoral Crime and Security, which began work on July 1 to investigate voter fraud and violations of the election law. The governor added that further investigations could lead to more indictments.
“Now this is just one class of voters that we know broke the law. Investigations are ongoing into people who voted in two different jurisdictions and I assume you’ll see prosecutions,” DeSantis teased. “We also have people voting who are illegal aliens.”
DeSantis has argued that Florida’s election process is one of the safest in the country in 2020, but announced election integrity measures he signed earlier this year to improve the process. The bill restricted ballot boxes, tightened ID requirements, and created the Office of Voting Crimes and Security.