MELBOURNE, FLORIDA — Inspectors with FDLE’s Election Crime Unit arrested Louis Palmieri, 77, of Melbourne on Wednesday for false affirmation and illegal voting – both third-degree felonies.
Investigators say Palmieri voted in the November 2020 election after signing paperwork claiming he was eligible to vote. Palmieri has been on Florida’s Sex Offender Registry since 2003 after being convicted of engaging or enticing a child under 16 years of age to engage in sexual activity in St. Lucie County.
Palmieri was arrested yesterday and booked into the Brevard County Jail. The case was referred by the Florida Department of State, Office of Election Crimes and Security and will be prosecuted by Attorney General Ashley Moody’s Office of Statewide Prosecution.
In 2018, Florida voters passed a state constitutional amendment to restore the voting rights of most convicted felons, but the amendment excludes felons convicted of murder or sexual offenses.
