'Elections Police' Developing Plan To Enforce New Voting Laws

FLORIDA — Gov. Ron DeSantis said the state's newly formed Office of Elections Crimes and Security has a new director and is in the process of coming up with a plan to strengthen voter ID requirements for mail-in ballots by Feb. 1.

During a ceremonial signing of Senate Bill 524, DeSantis officially established what's being derogatorily referred to by voter advocacy groups as the "election police" to seek out and punish anyone who commits voter fraud.

Election reform was first forwarded by DeSantis and Republican legislators in 2021 amidst allegations that Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden as a result of voter fraud, allegations federal election officials determined were false.

Last week, DeSantis said Florida's new election law and the creation of an Office of Election Crimes and Security will correct a number of problems surrounding the validity of elections in the state.

"We are creating for the first time ever an in-state office of elections crimes and security to be able to prosecute voter fraud," said DeSantis in Williston July 11.

Among other things, he said the bill requires supervisors of elections to purge their voting rolls each year, eliminating those who are unregistered, fraudulently registered, died or moved out of the state during the past year.

Additionally, it limits the mass mailing of vote-by-mail and absentee ballots by outside parties that aren't affiliated with a supervisor of elections office.

"If you're getting an absentee ballot, we want to make sure that's your ballot," he said. "When you go to your polling place, you have to show your voter ID to get into vote. We want to make sure it's the same for the mail."

The bill also makes it a crime to "harvest ballots."

Ballot harvesting involves a third party collecting absentee ballots from voters' homes and dropping them off at a polling place or election office.

"If you ballot harvest in the state of Florida, this is now a third-degree felony that you could be hit with," DeSantis said.

SB 524 increases the penalty for ballot harvesting from a first-degree misdemeanor to a third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in prison, a $5,000 fine and up to five years of probation.

The legislation also prevents supervisors of elections from accepting what DeSantis refers to as "Zuckerbucks," money that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg donated to elections offices ahead of the 2020 election.

Zuckerberg's nonprofit, the Center for Tech and Civic Life, gave $350 million to 2,500 election departments across 47 states to "build capacity, streamline processes and make capital investments," according to the center.

The election bill is continuing to receive backlash from Democrats and voting rights advocates.

Following the passage of a similar bill, Senate Bill 90, in 2021, the League of Women Voters of Florida, Black Voters Matter and the Florida Alliance For Retired Americans filed a lawsuit, arguing that the law was aimed at suppressing Black voters.

As a result, U.S. District Judge Mark Walker blocked the state from enforcing the law in March. In a 288-page opinion, Walker said the legislation built upon two decades of discriminatory voting laws from the Florida Legislature aimed at strengthening Republican power.

However, two months ago, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated portions of Senate Bill 90, saying Walker's contention that the law intentionally targeted Black voters was flawed. The three-judicial panel said there wasn't evidence that the law was passed with the intent to discriminate, and issued a stay while the appeal continues.

In the meantime, the Republican-dominated Legislature filed Senate Bill 524, making a few changes that, if anything, makes it more difficult for people to vote, said opponents, who are challenging this law as well.

The 2021 law imposed new restrictions on drop boxes, which supervisors of elections widely used during the COVID-19 pandemic to make it easy for voters to drop off vote-by-mail ballots. The law required supervisors only use the boxes during early voting hours and at early voting sites, and to have them staffed at all times. Supervisors who violated the requirement faced $25,000 fines.

The 2022 law says the drop boxes, now called “secure ballot intake stations,” can only be placed at a permanent branch office of the supervisor of elections that is open Monday through Friday eight hours a day, eliminating the convenience of having drop boxes at a variety of locations for voters.

The new bill also requires third-party groups to deliver voter registration applications to supervisors of elections offices within 14 days after they're filled out. Failure to meet the 14-day deadline could result in a $50,000 fine.

State Rep. Fentrice Driskell, D-Tampa, leader designate of the Florida House Democrats, lashed out following DeSantis' ceremonial signing of the bill.

"As if targeting marginalized communities wasn't enough, the governor has now broadened his attacks to now include the voting freedoms of all Floridians," she said in a statement. "This bad bill encroaches on every Floridian's right to a fair voting process free from arbitrary obstacles put in place by Tallahassee politicians."

DeSantis, however, claims the bill makes Florida "a national leader by running the most secure elections in the country."

Among the most controversial portions of the bill is the creation of a permanent office within the Department of State that is dedicated to investigating all election crimes in Florida.

Before now, there was not a dedicated office to investigate all election crimes in Florida.

Finally, the bill requires the Department of State to recommend a plan on how to strengthen ID requirements for mail-in ballots, and must submit a report on the plan and draft legislation for any statutory changes needed to implement the plan by Feb. 1, 2023.

The plan will include how to prescribe the use of a Florida driver license number, Florida identification card number or Social Security number to confirm the identity of each voter returning a vote-by-mail ballot, just as it's currently done by voters who vote early or vote on election day.

On July 6, DeSantis appointed former Broward County Supervisor of Elections Peter Antonacci to head the new voter crime office.

He said Antonacci's experience as a deputy attorney general, statewide prosecutor and supervisor of elections makes him ideally suited to investigate and ensure that election crimes are fully prosecuted.

“I am confident he will lead the Office of Election Crimes and Security with integrity and ensure that Florida’s elections are the most secure in the nation," DeSantis said.

DeSantis' selection of Antonacci was lauded by Florida Secretary of State and Chief Election Officer Cord Byrd.

“In Florida, our freedoms and rights are protected by the rule of law and our elections are no different. Judge Antonacci’s formidable knowledge of Florida election law and his experience as a supervisor of elections will ensure that our laws are enforced and that voters have confidence in our elections," he said.

DeSantis' selection of Antonacci also was hailed by Antonacci's longtime friend, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd.

“I’ve known Peter Antonacci for many years, and he is ethical, hardworking and committed to acting with integrity. He will call balls and strikes," Judd said. "I trust him to make decisions that will strengthen our right to vote. Peter is the right person at the right time for this very important position.”

Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, a Democrat who is running for governor against DeSantis, however, called the election crime office superfluous and Antonacci's appointment "purely political."

"We already have fraud laws on the books that should be enforced," she said.

A graduate of the Florida State University School of Law, Antonacci began his career as a trial prosecutor in the Second Judicial Court and, prior to his appointment by DeSantis, served as director and chief judge of the Division of Administrative Hearings.

He was also deputy attorney general under former Attorney General Bob Butterworth, CEO of Enterprise Florida, general counsel to former Gov. Rick Scott, Palm Beach County state attorney and executive director of the South Florida Water Management District.

He was appointed as Broward County elections supervisor in 2018.