Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Florida Republican, announced on Thursday that 20 people in his state have been charged with voter fraud.
Most of those charged hailed from Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami Dade counties and voted in 2020 despite being prohibited from voting due to convictions of murder or sexual assault, DeSantis revealed. Voter fraud is a third-degree felony in Florida, and those convicted of it could face a fine of up to $5,000 and up to five years behind bars.
“It’s not just going to be 20 arrests — this is the opening salvo of an office that was just set up on July 1,” DeSantis said. “This is the first step. There will be more that happen over the weeks and months [ahead]. And hopefully there’s not a lot of cases that need to be prosecuted for 2022.”
Under Florida law, people convicted of murder or sexual assault are disenfranchised from voting unless they adhere to the proper restoration process, which the 20 people who face charges failed to do, DeSantis said. Read more…
