ORLANDO, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis’ election fraud show of force is casting light on a broken system for restoring the voting rights of Floridians with felony convictions and bringing flawed criminal cases against people who mistakenly thought they could vote, defense lawyers and advocates say.
Rather than charging Floridians with crimes, DeSantis’ administration should address its own shortcomings that allowed voter registration cards to be issued to ineligible people, said state Rep. Michael Gottlieb, a Broward County lawyer who is representing one of the people facing voter fraud charges.
“If they allowed you to do it and they are an arm of the government, how does the government then come and prosecute you for something they allowed you to do?” asked Gottlieb, D-Davie. “It’s almost as if the state is a co-conspirator.”
