Gov. Ron DeSantis announced 20 people in the state have been arrested and charged with illegally voting in Florida.
His office had announced that he would make a “major announcement” in Broward, leading to questions about whether he could take action against Broward Elections Supervisor Joe Scott. But he said during Thursday’s news conference that was not what he would be doing.
Joining DeSantis for the news conference were Attorney General Ashley Moody; Secretary of State Cord Byrd; Mark Glass, acting commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement; and Peter Antonacci, the former Broward supervisor of elections who was tapped by DeSantis to oversee a new election crimes division.
The governor said 20 people with felony convictions of murder or sex offenses have been charged with illegally voting. He said most are in the three South Florida counties.
Last month, DeSantis tapped Antonacci, 73, to head a new elections investigation office.
Antonacci has had several high-profile roles in South Florida, including an appointment as Broward supervisor of elections, an appointment as Palm Beach County state attorney, and serving as executive director of the South Florida Water Management District.
The Governor’s Office has said the Office of Election Crimes and Security “is charged with investigating all election crimes in Florida and overseeing the implementation of measures that will ensure Florida’s elections remain secure.”
The objective, according to statements from the governor’s office is to “ensure that Florida’s Elections are the most secure in the nation.”
Creation of the Office of the Election Crimes and Security has raised suspicions among Democrats, who have pointed to Florida’s elections in recent years, which have had only isolated problems with alleged fraud.
Broward is the most heavily Democratic county in the state. Still, some local Democratic leaders have voiced respect for Antonacci, saying the supervisors of elections office was generally well run during his tenure.
The Broward State Attorney’s Office has indicted four felons, three convicted of second-degree murder and one sex offender.
Among them are: Nathaniel Singleton, 71, was convicted on Feb. 15, 1996, of second-degree murder, making him ineligible to get his voting rights restored, records show. But he filled out a voter registration form in October 2019, saying he was eligible to vote, an affidavit said. He voted in the August primary and November general elections in 2020, the affidavit said.
Ronald Lee Steel, 51, of Fort Lauderdale, was convicted on Oct. 16, 1990, of murder in the second degree. On June 22, 2018, he completed a Florida voter application falsely affirming he was eligible to vote, his affidavit said. He voted in the November 2020 elections, the report said.
Ahead of DeSantis’ news conference at the courthouse, many Republican guests were being allowed in. Among them were Rep. Chip LaMarca, congressional candidate, and Palm Beach County State Republican Committeeman Joe Budd.
Also on hand were Michele Merrell, the Broward state Republican committeewoman, and Linda Stoch, a major Palm Beach Republican activist.
DeSantis has said Florida’s 2020 election was well run. But as Republican voters have grown more distrustful of elections — largely because of former President Donald Trump repeatedly making false claims of election fraud in 2020 — DeSantis and Republicans who control Florida government made several changes in state election law, including the addition of the new election crime office.
--------
