To restore faith in our election system and curb the shattering of public trust following radical changes made to state election laws during the 2020 election, Governor Ron DeSantis signed an AFW supported bill that protects free and fair elections.
“By making these reforms, Governor DeSantis has ensured Florida remains at the forefront of putting all Americans first. These reforms are necessary and common sense, especially for a state like Florida with its mobile population of snowbirds, and they will immediately deter future election criminals. Other states should follow Florida’s lead. Voting, double voting, voting under an alias, and other crimes have been a problem without consequence in the Sunshine State. This new law will change that and strengthen other election laws put in place last year,” said Honorable Ken Blackwell, former Ohio Secretary of State, AFW Senior Advisor, and chairman of the America First Policy Institute’s Center for Election Integrity.
The Public Interest Legal Foundation released a report detailing the election crime problem in Florida, documenting, through public records requests, at least 156 case referrals from just nine of Florida’s 67 supervisors of elections made to prosecutors during the 2020 election cycle. Prosecuting election crimes requires resources, time, and election law experience that many local county prosecutors lack. Governor DeSantis understands this problem.
Among its many provisions, Florida’s new election law, enacted by SB 524, which was signed into law on April 26, 2022, combats election fraud and safeguards against abuse by creating a new office within the Florida Department of State to investigate election crimes. The agency will help fix the problem of county prosecutors succumbing to either political pressure or lack of resources to pursue election crimes.
SB 524 combats election fraud and safeguards against abuse by creating a new office within the Florida Department of State to investigate election crimes. This law will also enhance the security of vote-by-mail ballots, boost voter verification measures, and increase election transparency.
Read more about the legislation here.
