The First Florida Voter Fraud Unit Investigated a Proposed State Election Crimes Measure? An Attorney General’s Comment on the Case of Roger Weedon
The 20 people charged with voter fraud are from Florida. This was the first set of cases that the election crimes unit was created to investigate.
Roger Weedon, who is representing two individuals charged for alleged voter fraud, says he thinks there is even a case to be made that the state entrapped these voters. He thinks a system where election officials and formerly incarcerated people could see if a person is eligible to vote would have been created by the state.
The new law made it nearly impossible for those with felony convictions to vote and placed them behind a laborious bureaucratic maze. Why? To sustain one of the most potent, racist forms of voter suppression in the United States. According to The Sentencing Project, one in every 16 Black adults across the country is disenfranchised. In Florida, that figure is one in seven black adults. The bill would make sure we keep it that way.
Van Jones and Janos Marton: An Insider Look at DeSantis’ Crackdown on the Florida Democratic Legislator
CNN host and political commentator Van Jones is also the founder of Dream.org. Janos Marton, an organizer and civil rights attorney, is the national director of Dream.org. The views expressed in this commentary are the authors’. CNN has more opinion.
In images from a recent body cam recording seen around the country, Tony’s handcuffs were placed on him and he was put in a squad car.
Stribling and Grant were among 20 people arrested as part of DeSantis’ crackdown in Florida and charged with voter fraud. They could be sentenced to prison if they are convicted of the new felony charges. The charges against one man were dropped due to the fact that the prosecutor had no jurisdiction to bring them. Their chance at a second chance is being taken away because of their involvement in our democracy.
The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, which also supports the legal defense of arrested individuals, thinks that allowing someone to return to society and participate in one of the most cherished activities will be the best way to set people up for success after they have been imprisoned.
After Amendment 4 was passed in Florida, republican members of the state legislature worked to undermine the will of the voters. The legislature passed a bill that barred the vote for people with outstanding fines stemming from a felony conviction.
The police body cam images show people confused and upset about their arrests, and were obtained through public records requests.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/22/opinions/florida-desantis-voter-fraud-jones-marton/index.html
The Disenfranchised: When DeSantis Learned to Turn Himself in, What Happens If You Don’t Obtain Your Vote?
The disenfranchised included Michelle Stribling, a 52-year old Black woman who believed her rights had been restored because she was issued a voter registration card. She voted in the 2020 election in Orange County via mail-in ballot and now faces two felony counts for having voted, charges punishable by up to five years in prison.
The black man told officials that he voted in the mail after being sent a voter ID card. He too was bewildered over how he could be accused of fraud when the government told him he could vote.
DeSantis announced the arrests at a press conference in August, but they became a national news story after the body cam footage was released showing the incredulous faces and plaintive voices of Floridians who were having their freedom taken away again.
Four people from The Villages were charged for voting twice in the 2020 election. They had voted in Florida and another state. Two of the defendants turned themselves in. Three accepted pretrial intervention deals requiring that they perform community service and earn at least a C in a civics class.
Florida’s governor showed his desperation for attention and desire for headlines, but this is bigger than one election, campaign or political party. The United States was founded on the principles of freedom and democracy. One of the principles is the right to vote. Voting is a cornerstone of American values and cherished way of life. We dream of a country that makes democracy work for all of us.
Our democracy and our communities are not strengthened by the arrests of formerly convicted people. They are a political stunt in the real world.
America has the highest incarceration rate in the world. Ours should be a country of second chances. There is a need for leaders who view formerly incarcerated people as people.
Florida Voter Fraud Cases Update: A State’s Attempt to Obtain an Exempt Voter’s Voter Registration Card
The statewide prosecutor recently secured one conviction through a plea deal. But at least three other cases so far have been dismissed on procedural grounds. Even if the cases go to trial, attorneys for those that were charged say it’s going to be difficult.
The state’s effort has been a controversial one. Many of the individuals charged with voting illegally in 2020 say they thought they were eligible to vote, despite past felony convictions, because the state had given them a voter registration card.
He told NPR that she was at a bus stop and people were trying to register voters. She told them that she was a felon, and they told her it wasn’t a problem. You have the ability to apply. And if you are eligible and your rights have been restored they will send you a voter registration card.’ “
After filing out her registration form, Oliver’s local election official sent her a voter registration card. So, when the 2020 election came up, she cast a ballot.
But what Oliver didn’t know at this point, Rankin said, was that she actually was exempt from Amendment 4. The measure doesn’t extend voting rights to anyone who has been convicted of murder or a felony sex offense.
“If the government sends registration cards, then they should not be able to prosecute cases where they are close to a co-conspirator,” Weedon said.
Source: https://www.npr.org/2022/12/21/1144265521/florida-voter-fraud-cases-prosecution-update
Florida Voter Fraud Cases: A State is In the Wrong, an Attorney’s Case is Updating
Peter Washington is confident that he did nothing wrong and will prevail in court according to his attorney, Weedon. But his other client, Michelle Stribling, has been struggling.
One of the dismissed cases involved a man named Ronald Lee Miller. Robert Barrar said the statewide prosecutor was wrong to charge his client since he only voted in one place. Barrar said a statewide prosecutor only has jurisdiction if crimes are committed in multiple judicial circuits.
“What that means is whoever the accused was would have either had to have been involved in a conspiracy to commit the crime with someone in another judicial [circuit] or committed acts leading to the crime in two judicial circuits,” he said.
Robert Wood’s case was dismissed on these procedural grounds, as was the case of Larry Davis. Davis said that if a judge rules against his client in an appeal, he is going to take the case in front of a jury.
Their legal defense is almost entirely pro-bono. Many of the attorneys say they took these cases because the state is clearly in the wrong, and that it would be difficult for the state to prove these individuals intended to commit fraud.
Source: https://www.npr.org/2022/12/21/1144265521/florida-voter-fraud-cases-prosecution-update
Florida voter fraud cases: The plea deal for Ms. Stribling wasn’t accepted by the state, but it was dropped by the prosecutor
Weedon said that it had been very difficult for Ms. Stribling. “Not knowing what lies in your future — she spent a lot of years in prison. And she’s been the person who has been most impacted emotionally.”
This pressure is why at least one of these defendants — Oliver — recently took a plea deal. Her lawyer, Rankin, said the state gave her an extremely attractive plea offer she just couldn’t turn down. He claimed she was allowed to plead “no contest,” which means she did nothing wrong. The charges were dropped by the prosecutors.
“And she had zero punishment in her case,” Rankin said. “She had no jail time, no fine, no community service, no cost of prosecution or investigation — which usually apply — no probation. She completely walked away.
In a statement to NPR, the statewide prosecutor, Nick Cox, said “each case is unique” and that Oliver’s particular case stems “from a negotiated plea bargain.”
“It puts these defendants in the position where they just want to make it go away,” Rankin said. The state can say to the media that they have a conviction for illegal voting in Ms. Oliver’s case.
The state might not have a choice at all. Attorneys say they may have to offer a similar deal to avoid any disparity in sentencing in a lot of these cases.
Source: https://www.npr.org/2022/12/21/1144265521/florida-voter-fraud-cases-prosecution-update
Fixing the system that ripped up the voters: How much do we need to do when we can’t stop giving voter registration cards?
Volz says the system that tripped up these voters needs fixing, and he’s working with some state lawmakers to create a database so people who aren’t eligible because of a past conviction are not given voter registration cards anymore.
He said this was a sign that all of us need to be careful when we start to criminalize voting. We need to focus on the voters. It’s important that we fix the system so we don’t end up in this situation in the future.