Florida Department of State issues report claiming ballot initiative fraud
Gov. Ron DeSantis and other public officials have opened hundreds of investigations into paid circulators.
In another bold attempt to undermine the ballot initiative process in Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a report that accused the committee behind it of fraud.
The Florida Department of State, with DeSantis as a signatory, listed several alleged violations, including paid circulators signing dead people’s names, forging signatures, using people’s information without their consent, and perjury. The report was 348 pages long after the state sent officers to investigate and interrogate people who signed the initiative.
According to the investigation, two circulators have been charged and convicted, with one to a multi-year prison sentence. They’ve opened more than 100 other investigations. Strangely, the report makes an issue with people coming from outside the state to gather signatures. Yet, according to Ballotopedia, a website that explains political processes, there is no residency requirement for being a canvasser.
The names of the people claiming fraud weren’t included. It’s very well possible that much of it was fabricated by people within the antiabortion movement to misrepresent and undermine those who were pushing for the initiative.
George Andrews, a paid circulator, was sentenced to more than two years in prison. The report indicated he pleaded guilty to the crime. Another circulator, Jamie Johnson, has been prosecuted as well. Her case awaits trial. Andre Salazar, who worked in Sarasota County, was also charged. The final person charged was Donna Harriel of Martin County. That was all, according to the report.
The primary agency responsible for compiling the report was the Office of Election Crimes and Security, established in 2022 after former President Donald Trump's wave of accusations that he was cheated out of a victory in his 2020 campaign. The unit investigates fraud allegations.
This isn’t the only thing the DeSantis administration has done to derail the ballot initiative. Another aspect of DeSantis’ antiabortion resistance is that he’s used a government-funded website for the Agency for Health Care Administration to spread disinformation about the ballot initiative. It describes abortion rights activists as ‘fear-mongers.”