It was nearly a year ago when Gov. Ron DeSantis held a news conference, making what he characterized as an important announcement: The Florida Office of Election Crimes and Security — an office he created to pursue a problem that didn’t appear to exist in any meaningful way — had found 20 people who voted illegally in 2020.
The Republican governor, surrounded by uniformed officers, assured the public that the suspects were in custody and would be prosecuted.
As we’ve discussed, DeSantis seemed quite pleased with himself. He had created an election crimes office and it uncovered election crimes, just like he said it would. His press conference was a victory lap for the ambitious governor’s “election integrity” campaign.
Or so it seemed at the time.
It wasn’t long before the cases went to court and started falling apart. Most of the initial 20 arrests — each targeting former convicts who weren’t eligible to vote — have either seen the charges dismissed or plea deals that resulted in no jail time. Among the most obvious problems with these dubious charges is that the Floridians who’d been arrested had been notified by government entities they were eligible to cast ballots.
Indeed, The Tampa Bay Times highlighted the suspects who seemed utterly baffled as to why they were being taken away in handcuffs, insisting they had cast perfectly legal votes — not only because voters approved a state constitutional amendment in 2018, restoring voting rights to many felons, but also because they’d been told explicitly that they could participate in elections.
As the cases collapse in court, it might be tempting to think all’s well that ends well. It’s not as if DeSantis’ election crimes office has actually put people behind bars. Those who’ve faced dubious charges can simply return to their lives, right?
As a Washington Post report explained this week, the truth is far more disturbing.
The fallout came fast when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s new…
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