Voter fraud charge dismissed in Florida after arrest
A Florida man had his election fraud charges dismissed on Friday, making him the first of 20 people who Gov. Ron DeSantis announced had been charged with voter fraud in August, to beat his case.
The ruling by a Miami judge may now pave the way for similar motions and rulings in the other 19 election fraud cases, which garnered national attention and controversy when they were announced on Aug. 18. DeSantis said at the time that they were the “opening salvo” by Florida’s newly funded Office of Election Crimes and Security to crack down on voter fraud.
Wood was facing up to five years in prison and $5,000 in fines and fees, for allegedly illegally voting in the 2020 election. But a judge found on Friday that the statewide prosecutor did not have jurisdiction over one case in Miami. In order for the statewide prosecutor to have jurisdiction, the crimes alleged must have occurred in at least two judicial circuits.
State prosecutors argued that the crimes were committed in Leon County in addition to Miami Dade County, because\the defendants’ applications and votes were later transmitted to the Department of State in Tallahassee. The defense argued the alleged offenses only happened in Miami Dade. The judge found with the defense, which argued that the act of applying to vote, and voting only occurred in Miami Dade. All 20 cases are being prosecuted by the statewide prosecutor.
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Like FloriDUH, TN has done similar in disenfranchising their people who have felony convictions from voting: While many states have made it easier for people convicted of felonies to vote, Tennessee has gone in the other direction (https://www.propublica.org/article/tennessee-black-voters-disenfranchised?utm_source=pocket-newtab)
There is a cultural slant to the article, but the overall point is blocking people to vote post-conviction.
Of course, the reason the statewide prosecutor was assigned in the first place is because Katherine Fernandez Rundle, the Miami-Dade elected State Attorney, who is a reasonable person and a moderate, won’t prosecute the cases from Miami. They will have trouble with the elected State Attorneys in Orange County and some other counties as well.