Florida governor calls for election police force

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Citing unspecified examples of predetermination fraud, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis connected Wednesday pledged to make a instrumentality enforcement bureau to analyse predetermination crimes arsenic portion of a caller bundle of voting laws.

Speaking astatine an lawsuit successful West Palm Beach, the Republican politician announced a bid of predetermination instrumentality proposals for lawmakers to instrumentality up during adjacent year's legislative session, including caller restrictions connected ballot driblet boxes and strengthened penalties for ballot harvesting.

DeSantis, who is up for reelection and is eyeing a 2024 statesmanlike run, echoed galore talking points connected voting problems that person gained traction successful the GOP pursuing erstwhile President Donald Trump's mendacious claims that his reelection was stolen from him.

The politician has antecedently praised the 2020 predetermination successful Florida arsenic smooth, and determination is wide statement among predetermination officials and experts that determination was nary fraud that could person impacted results successful the past statesmanlike election.

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Still, without evidence, DeSantis suggested issues astatine the ballot box.

“There'll beryllium people, if you spot idiosyncratic ballot harvesting, you know, what bash you do? If you telephone into the predetermination office, a batch of times they don't bash anything. If you cognize that, there's, you know, successful Florida, it's Constitutionally mandated, lone citizens are allowed to ballot successful Florida, and yet you spot examples of people, they’ll adjacent cheque they’re not citizens, and they’ll inactive beryllium fixed ballots,” helium said to applause.

DeSantis spoke broadly astir the projected predetermination constabulary force, but a quality merchandise from his bureau said the Office of Election Crimes and Security would beryllium formed “within the Department of State to analyse predetermination crimes and fraud.”

A spokesperson for DeSantis said the politician is seeking to proactively deter transgression enactment and forestall elector fraud but referred questions connected circumstantial violations of predetermination instrumentality to the Florida lawyer wide oregon the authorities department. Neither bureau instantly returned an email seeking comment.

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His lawsuit Wednesday astatine a edifice was listed arsenic a property league but included a ample assemblage that cheered on arsenic helium criticized coronavirus mandates, Big Tech and policing policies successful wide states.

Earlier this year, arsenic portion of a nationwide GOP propulsion to tighten voting laws, DeSantis signed a bill that restricted the usage of ballot driblet boxes, strengthened elector ID laws and prohibited the alleged signifier of “ballot harvesting,” the postulation of completed ballots by a 3rd party, among different things.

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