TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA — Since its inception in 2022, the Office of Election Crimes and Security (OECS) at the Florida Department of State has made nearly 1,500 criminal referrals and sent them to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and local prosecutors.
Thirteen of these referrals have led to felony convictions. Thirty-two criminal referrals have led to arrests or warrants being issued, and of the two election cases that have gone to a jury trial, both resulted in felony convictions.
Even though there are thousands of complaints and referrals, prosecuting authority is reserved for local law enforcement to determine if someone has broken the law related to voter fraud or voter registration malpractice.
“In cases where it appears a criminal violation has occurred, OECS forwards that information to law enforcement to conduct a criminal investigation,” said Natalie Meiner, spokeswoman for the Florida Department of State.
ONLY STATE WITH AN ELECTION SECURITY OFFICE
Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd told The Florida Standard that Florida is the only state that has an office for the specific task of election security.
Byrd stated that the presence of the office can be used to deter bad actors, but so far they have seen a steady stream of complaints being filed and sent to the OECS given that “new people are registering every day” and deceased voters are needing to be removed from voter rolls.
He also explained that the influx of new Floridians in recent years has caused the OECS to stay in communication with national databases to ensure voters aren’t registered in multiple states.
CREATED TO PREVENT FURTHER ELECTION INSECURITY
The OECS was created in 2022 with the intention of securing Florida elections. According to the OECS’ inaugural report to the Legislature, the committee launched as a result of “increased awareness and heightened scrutiny of election administration across the nation.”
There are numerous examples of voter fraud in Florida since 2020 – including at the Alachua County jail – where ten inmates were found to have attempted to vote in the presidential election.
Arrests were also made in Jackson and Marion counties. A Jackson County man was charged with misuse of voter information and fraudulent submissions related to constitutional initiative petitions. In Marion County, a man allegedly cast more than one ballot in the 2020 election.
In all, the OECS has “reviewed and forwarded to law enforcement for criminal investigation approximately 1,094 individuals who allegedly voted unlawfully in the 2020 General Election, and 70 individuals who allegedly voted unlawfully in the 2022 General Election.”
