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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a bill, SB 524: Election Administration, on Monday, April 25, 2022, to create a police force dedicated to pursuing voter fraud and other election crimes, embracing a top priority of Republicans after former president Donald Trump’s false claims that his reelection was stolen, in the video published on April 25, 2022, “Gov. DeSantis signs bill creating election police unit| Press Conference“, below:
To see this bill, SB 524: Election Administration, please click HERE.
To read the text of this bill, SB 524: Election Administration, please click HERE.
To read the announcement regarding this bill, SB 524, in italics, below:
SPRING HILL, Fla. — Today, Governor Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill (SB) 524, Election Administration, to ensure that Florida continues to have secure and accurate elections. This legislation will strengthen election security measures by requiring voter rolls to be annually reviewed and updated, strengthening ID requirements, establishing the Office of Election Crimes and Security to investigate election law violations, and increasing penalties for violations of election laws. To read more about the bill, click here.
“Twenty years ago, nobody thought Florida was a prime example of how to conduct elections, but we have become a national leader by running the most secure elections in the country,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “We need to do more to ensure our elections remain secure. We have ended ballot harvesting, stopped drop boxes and the mass mailing of ballots, and banned Zuckerbucks, and this bill will give us more resources to make sure bad actors are held accountable.”
“Governor DeSantis has made elections integrity a top priority from the very beginning of his administration, taking steps to ensure we invested in our elections systems, strengthened our cyber defenses, modernized equipment, updated voter rolls, and improved transparency, and we’ve seen results,” said Florida Secretary of State, Laurel M. Lee. “As Florida’s Chief Elections Official, I share Governor DeSantis’ strong commitment to elections integrity. We want to ensure that every Floridian can have confidence that in Florida, we do elections right.”
“Florida leads the nation in free and fair elections because Governor DeSantis and the Legislature have taken a proactive approach to address any issues,” said Senate President Wilton Simpson.“Voter confidence in the integrity of our elections is essential to maintaining a democratic form of government, and I am grateful to Governor DeSantis for making election integrity in this state a focus of his administration. When people and organizations interfere with Florida elections, there are consequences.”
“I am proud to have worked with Governor DeSantis and his team to deliver a transformational elections reform bill,” said Senator Travis Hutson. “This law puts Florida at the forefront of election security and transparency.”
“In 2020, Florida set the example of a well-run election for the rest of the nation to see,” said Representative Daniel Perez. “SB 524 is an example of our commitment to always do better and continue to be the best state in the nation for secure and accurate election results.”
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 bill also establishes the Office of Election Crimes and Security within the Department of State. Before now, there was not a dedicated office to investigate all election crimes in Florida. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement received positions and resources in this year’s budget to support the criminal investigation of election crimes in partnership with the Office of Election Crimes and Security.
The bill requires voter list maintenance to be conducted annually by supervisors of elections in order to combat the possibility of fraudulent voting.
Finally, the bill requires the Department of State to recommend a plan on how to strengthen ID requirements for mail-in ballots. The Department of State must submit a report on the plan and draft legislation for any statutory changes needed to implement the plan by February 1, 2023. The plan will include how to prescribe the use of a Florida driver license number, Florida identification card number, social security number, or any part thereof to confirm the identity of each elector returning a vote-by-mail-ballot.
Gathered, written, and posted by Windermere Sun-Susan Sun Nunamaker More about the community at www.WindermereSun.com
I am a mother/wife/daughter, math professor, solar advocate, world traveler, yogi, artist, photographer, sharer of knowledge/information, and resident of Windermere, FL. I've worked professionally in applied math, engineering, medical research, and as a university math professor in IL and FL for about 20 years. My husband and I loved Disney and moved down to Central Florida initially as snowbirds. But we've come to love the warmth and friendly people offered by this community and decided to move down to Windermere, FL full time in 2006. I am now spending time sharing information/ knowledge online, promoting understanding of math and solar energy (via http://www.sunisthefuture.net ), and developing Windermere Sun (http://www.WindermereSun.com) as an online publication, sharing and promoting Community ABC's (Activities-Businesses-Collaborations) for healthier/happier/more sustainable living. In the following posts, I'll be sharing with you some of the reasons why Windermere has attracted us to become full-time residents of Central Florida region. Please feel free to leave your comments via email at "Contact Us" in the topbar above or via info.WindermereSun@gmail.com.
~Let's help one another~
Windermere Sun-Susan Sun Nunamaker
Founder/Owner/Editor/Producer of Windermere Sun
email: info.WindermereSun@gmail.com
Twitter: @WindermereSun
Dear Friends & Neighbors, (Please click on red links & note magenta) For updated global info & data on COVID-19, please click HERE. For updated global data & graphs on COVID-19, please click HERE....
Dear Friends & Neighbors, (Please click on red links & note magenta) For updated global info & data on COVID-19, please click HERE. For updated global data & graphs on COVID-19, please click HERE....
Dear Friends & Neighbors, (Please click on red links & note magenta) For updated global info & data on COVID-19, please click HERE. For updated global data & graphs on COVID-19, please click...
Dear Friends & Neighbors, (Please click on red links & note magenta) For updated global info & data on COVID-19, please click HERE. For updated global data & graphs on COVID-19, please click HERE....
Dear Friends & Neighbors, (Please click on red links & note magenta) For updated global info & data on COVID-19, please click HERE. For updated global data & graphs on COVID-19, please click HERE....
