On Thursday afternoon, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) announced the arrest of 20 individuals by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) after an investigation by the Florida Office of Election Crimes and Security revealed that they engaged in voter fraud.
According to a press release on the Florida governor’s website:
Today, Governor Ron DeSantis announced that following investigations by the Florida Office of Election Crimes and Security and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), 20 individuals are being arrested by FDLE for breaking Florida’s elections laws. All 20 of these individuals were disqualified from voting after they were convicted of murder or a felony sexual offense, but they chose to vote anyway, and now they have all been charged with voter fraud — a third-degree felony punishable by up to a $5,000 fine and up to 5 years in prison.
Additionally, Governor DeSantis directed the Department of State to communicate to county Supervisors of Elections with instructions on records they must preserve until additional reviews and investigations are complete.
In a press conference, DeSantis said that the individuals arrested “did not go through any process” in order to “restore” their right to vote.
“They do not have the right to vote. They have been disenfranchised under Florida law,” DeSantis said. “An amendment for that passed specifically included people that had been convicted sexual assault and homicide from being able to have an automatic restoration of their voting rights.
And so, they did not go through any process, they did not get their rights restored, and yet, they went ahead and voted anyway. That is against the law, and now they’re going to pay the price for it.”
For video of DeSantis’ announcement and comments, watch below: