Despite Little Intentional Illegal Voting, FL Gov. DeSantis Escalates Election Law Cases to Statewide Prosecutors

Brian Beihl

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Feb. 20, 2023

Photo: Office of the Gov. of Florida

Remember to Follow us 👍🏾on Facebook and Twitter!

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

Democracy Docket – Florida Bill Expanding Election Crimes Oversight Heads to Governor
Florida Senate – SB 4B (Enrolled Version)
Brennan Center – Governor DeSantis Signs Election Crimes Law Expanding Statewide Prosecutor’s Power to Target People with Past Convictions; Civil and Voting Rights Groups Respond

ACLU FL – JOINT WRITTEN TESTIMONY IN OPPOSITION TO HB 3B (STATEWIDE PROSECUTION) – HOUSE – 2.9.23
Salon – “Intimidation tactic”: Florida GOP voting bill may “disenfranchise” voters for simple mistakes

Groups Taking Action:

NAACP Florida, ACLU of Florida, Common Cause Florida, League of Women Voters of Florida, Legal Defense Fund

Today’s Script:  (Variations occur with audio due to editing for time)

You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.

We’re following up on last week’s story on Election Integrity Units.  Florida’s EIU made 19 arrests in August, most of which were dismissed due to mistakes made not by the voters, but by the state.  Now, with SB 4B, the DeSantis administration has doubled down.

The August cases involved paroled felons, many of whom were mistakenly given voter registration cards by state agencies.  But courts also made it clear that Florida’s Office of Statewide Prosecution didn’t have the authority to prosecute the cases, something previously handled by local election officials and DA’s.

Undeterred in his tough-on-voter-fraud narrative, Governor Ron DeSantis expanded his EIU’s budget to $3.1 million dollars for 2023-24, and last week signed SB 4B, a bill escalating cases of alleged illegal voting, signature gathering, or voter registration to the Office of Statewide Prosecution.   

A coalition of pro-voter groups condemned the bill, calling it a clear effort to intimidate formerly incarcerated voters, many of whom are Black.  They argue that while millions are spent on investigating alleged fraud, LITTLE is being spent to PREVENT voters or state agencies from eligibility mistakes, after a 2018 referendum restored rights to 1.4 million formerly-incarcerated citizens. 

The group’s statement said, “Instead, state leaders have doubled down on their fruitless hunt for widespread voter fraud, which doesn’t exist, as evidenced by the Office of Election Crimes and Security’s very own data,” said the pro-voter groups.

We have articles and the groups taking action at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org. You can also follow us at Facebook.com/americandemocracyminute.  I’m Brian Beihl.