TAMPA, Fla. — Less than 24 hours after Governor Ron DeSantis announced criminal charges against 20 felons for illegally voting in 2020, the author of a bill that implemented the amendment that gave some felons their rights pushed back.
Governor DeSantis announced the charges Thursday afternoon and they were the first major public move from DeSantis' election police unit.
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 other details.
Tampa Bay Representative Jeff Brandes, who wrote the bill that implemented Amendment 4, said the intent of the bill was to help voters and that some of those arrested complied with the law.
"As the author of the bill implementing amend (sic) 4 it was our intent that those ineligible would be granted some grace by the state if they registered without intent to commit voter fraud," Brandes said on Twitter. "Some of the individuals did check with SOEs and believed they could register. #Intentmatters"
As the author of the bill implementing amend 4 it was our intent that those ineligible would be granted some grace by the state if they registered without intent to commit voter fraud. Some of the individuals did check with SOEs and believed they could register. #Intentmatters https://t.co/3IXmSuIpSe
— Jeff Brandes (@JeffreyBrandes) August 19, 2022
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 Biden.
DeSantis has previously praised Florida for carrying out a smooth election in 2020. The 20 people arrested were among more than 11 million Florida voters who cast ballots in the 2020 election, or roughly 0.0002% of the total vote.
The Office of Election Crimes and Security was created as part of a voting law package approved by the GOP-controlled legislature earlier this year. The unit reviews fraud allegations and conducts preliminary investigations, with the law requiring the governor to appoint a group of special officers from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to pursue alleged violations.
Peter Antonacci, a former Broward County Supervisor of Elections tapped by DeSantis to lead the election police unit, said more voter fraud charges were coming. Antonacci said he is “certain” there were illegal votes cast in a recent Broward County congressional election decided by five votes. He provided no additional details.
