The Florida House on Wednesday passed a bill that would create a new state office dedicated to investigating election crimes.
The bill passed the GOP-controlled House according to party lines and will go to the desk of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. He is expected to sign it as law.
The Office of Crime and Electoral Security would review allegations of fraud and conduct preliminary investigations into possible violations or irregularities of the electoral law. The governor would also appoint special officers from the Florida Law Enforcement Department dedicated to investigating alleged violations of the election law.
The office will be a reduced version of what DeSantis initially envisioned: in its budget, it requested 52 employees for the office and a budget of $ 5.7 million. The current version would have about 25 researchers and agents.
“In every county in this state, you will find people who are committing electoral fraud if you look for it,” said Republican State Representative Blaise Ingoglia. “What is not happening is investigating these facts.”
A handful of Florida voters were arrested for trying to vote twice in the 2020 election. More than ten million Florida voters voted in that election.
“This bill simply creates a new Office of Electoral Crimes and Security with taxpayer money that we don’t have to spend,” said Democratic state Rep. Fentrice Driskell. “What bills like this are doing is saying that there is a problem with our electoral system that we are trying to solve … It perpetuates this concept that they should not be able to trust what is happening in government. he will eat us alive if we let him. “
Democrats and other opponents have argued that the new election security office is not necessary because election fraud is so rare, but Republicans have insisted it will increase confidence among voters that lawbreakers are trapped.
“We just don’t have the resources right now to be the partners we want to be for state and local law enforcement,” said Laurel Lee, Florida GOP Secretary of State. CBS News last month. “These resources would allow us to do even more to support our partnerships with these groups and be prepared for any challenge that comes.”
The bill also increases penalties for so-called “ballot collection,” making it a crime for anyone to hand over more than two ballots in addition to their own or immediate family members. Under current law, collecting ballots is a misdemeanor.
The bill also raises the limit on fines for certain violations by third-party voter registration organizations to between $ 1,000 and $ 50,000. It also requires election supervisors to maintain the electoral roll at least once a year, instead of every two years.
The bill also calls on election officials to review the feasibility of requiring voters in future elections to provide the last four digits of their driver’s license, state identification number, or Social Security number on a certificate when they return. a ballot by mail. This is a revision of an earlier version of the bill that would have enacted these changes in 2024.
“This bill is the antithesis of freedom,” said Democratic State Representative Michele Rayner. “This bill seeks to stifle the voting process.”
This is the second major election bill passed by the GOP-controlled Florida legislature in less than a year. DeSantis has praised the way Florida conducted the 2020 election, but says there is always room for improvement.
“You will not maintain the gold standard of electoral integrity if you do not constantly address the different ways in which criminals seek to exploit the loopholes in the system,” said GOP State Representative Tommy Gregory.
DeSantis signed a law last May, which requires voters to add identifying information when requesting a postal vote and causes voters to request a more frequent postal vote. It also tightened the rules on where mailboxes can be placed, the hours at which they can be accessed, and requires an election official to be present when voters leave ballots.
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