Ron DeSantis’ First Voter Fraud Bust Is Quickly Imploding
The governor’s own administration greenlighted the defendants’ voter registration applications. Now it has arrested them for voting.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis made a spectacle out of the round of arrests made by his election police force earlier this month, jailing 20 people on charges of voter fraud and promising more prosecutions to come. At least one target was dragged to jail in his underwear by a SWAT team at 6 a.m. But it turns out that the individuals ensnared in DeSantis’ dragnet had no idea that they could not lawfully vote. The governor’s own appointees flubbed their legal duty to stop them from registering. And because of their sloppy errors, all 20 defendants may well be acquitted of crimes they did not intend to commit.
DeSantis likely hoped they would agree to a plea deal, but voting rights lawyers have already stepped in to ensure that they will fight the charges in court.
Perhaps the governor won’t mind when the criminal case against these voters falls apart. His intention, after all, was to create a chilling effect on others’ rights, frightening eligible residents out of trying to vote. He has put a target on the back of every Floridian who was supposed to regain full citizenship under Amendment 4. Plenty of formerly incarcerated people might look upon this episode as proof that it is not worth attempting to rejoin the electorate.
Sadly, since these registered citizens have now been arrested after their initial convictions for what landed them on the registry, they are ineligible to ever be removed unless their attorneys can get these arrests expunged.
In 2018 a federal judge ruled that the civil rights restoration scheme in place in Florida was unconstitutional. (It required an ex-felon to appear, in person, in front of the governor and a tribunal to beg for them to restore his civil right – including the right to vote.)
Since that process is unconstitutional (federally) why is it ok to still require that ex-sex offenders and ex-murderers still undergo that process? FL Amendment 4 flies in the face of the US Federal Constitution. It is facially void (illegal)!
And lets stop and ask why the carveout was illegally included in amendment 4. Why? Is there some legitimate interest that is served by denying the vote to 2 hated classes? Smells like Jim Crow to me!
Could not agree more. And could not have said it better.
Here’s hoping that those charged will either have their charges dropped or receive the same punishment that several people who voted twice received. That is, get sent to Civics class. All in all, this DeSantis grandstanding on the political stage for his reelection. From his comments, he would like to keep all exfelons disenfranchised.
you CANT know someone’s intentions…. don’t assume like we don’t like people assuming the worst of SO.
Why doesn’t the Federal Government establish all laws pertaining to voting rights so that all elected officials would be elected on an equal plain from all states? It should not be up to each state to decide who is qualified to vote and who not. Just saying.
What does this have to do with sex offender news?
Those arrested were people with convictions for sex offenses
Florida have arrested Registrants for voting if you have read it through – which was the government’s fault to begin with because earlier these Registrants were approved by them.