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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced on Thursday that the state is in the process of arresting 20 ex-felons for voter fraud in connection with the 2020 election.
He said this is the first round of what he promises will be a wave of voter fraud arrests.
The investigation was led by the Office of Election Crimes and Security which was created during the 2022 legislative session to focus on election fraud investigations and prosecutions.
The first round was focused on felons who illegally voted in 2020 by either not properly applying to have voting rights restored or were unable to vote because of the severity of their crimes.
“They did not get their rights restored, and yet they went ahead and voted anyways,” DeSantis said. “That is against the law and now they’re gonna pay the price for it.”
DeSantis said that those arrested were convicted of crimes like murder and sexual assault, but no details were given about the defendants. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement later provided the names of the 20 individuals. They are all facing third-degree felony charges related to voting violations.
“This is just the first step. There are many more in the pipeline,” DeSantis said. “We are not just going to turn a blind eye to this. The days of that happening in Florida are over.”
DeSantis also said that the office is currently investigating people who have voted in two states and undocumented immigrants who he says may have illegally voted in Florida.
Some groups are not too thrilled with this. Florida Rising Executive Director Andrea Mercado said the announcement is a sign that DeSantis is undermining people’s access to voting.
“What today shows is not that democracy is working in Florida, it’s that the offices that are trying to turn our state into one-man rule will do whatever they can to distract and deflect from how they have reduced Floridians’ ability to vote and have their voice heard,” she said.
However, Attorney General Ashley Moody supported DeSantis and the administration.
She said, “As elected leaders, it is incumbent on us to ensure free and fair elections and instill confidence in the voting process.”
“No voting system can stand without the backing and confidence of the people it serves.”
DeSantis didn’t give specific details about which areas of the state the arrests were made in, but he did say the majority were in Democratic strongholds of Palm, Broward, and Miami-Dade counties.
DeSantis has said that he thought overall Florida’s 2020 election was an “efficient, transparent election.”
He hasn’t pushed for an audit of the election, but he has pushed for election overhaul bills, and that included the creation of the election’s investigation office.
DeSantis is running for re-election in the gubernatorial election on November 8, 2022. The Democrat primary will be on August 23, and Charlie Crist, Cadence Daniel, Nikki Fried, and Robert Willis are contending for the spot.
