Florida Governor DeSantis signs law establishing electoral police unit
Written byTimes Magazine
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Monday signed legislation creating a police force dedicated to prosecuting voter fraud and other election crimes, a top priority for Republicans after former President Donald Trump's false accusations that his re-election was stolen.
Highlighted this year's legislation and pushed for the Republican-controlled legislature to establish a police force in a speech he cited an unspecified turnout. Trick. Which became a famous debate within his party.
Voter fraud is rare, usually occurs in isolated cases, and usually goes unsolved. For example, an Associated Press investigation into the 2020 presidential election has identified fewer than 475 cases of potential voter fraud from the 25.5 million ballots cast in the six states where Trump and his allies contested his defeat to President Joe Biden.
Republicans across the country have stressed the need to restore public confidence in voting. Over the past two years, they have passed several voting laws to introduce new rules for the postal and early voting methods popular in 2020, when the pandemic hits. Coronavirus is ongoing. Interfere with private voting.
Florida's new law, which critics have deemed politically motivated and unnecessary, comes after DeSantis praised the 2020 state election smoothly but later suggested more rules were needed.
The law provides for the Florida State Department of State's Bureau of Voting Crime and Security to investigate allegations of fraud and conduct a preliminary investigation. Instead, DeSantis had to appoint a particular group of agents from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to prosecute election law violators.
The law also increases penalties for collecting filled ballots from third parties, often referred to as containing votes as a criminal offense. In addition, it provides fines for certain voting rights violations and requires election officials to keep voter lists regularly.
Democrats, a minority party in the state legislature, had criticized the bill as a way for DeSantis to appeal to Republican voters who believed the 2020 election results were fraudulent when he toyed with his presidential nomination.
Late last month, a federal judge overturned a portion of last year's general election law, harshly ruling that Republican-dominated state governments oppress black voters, and ordered efforts to write new directions over the next decade to win court approval.
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