FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 3, 2022
Washington, D.C. – Legislation was introduced this week to strengthen election integrity in Florida, including a series of measures proposed by Governor Ron DeSantis. Building on the successes of last year’s landmark election integrity package, the new legislation (SB 524) would further support fair, secure, and transparent Florida elections voters can trust. A similar bill was introduced in the House.
National Chairman of the Election Transparency Initiative and former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli issued the following statement:
“To say Governor DeSantis should be thanked for his leadership on issues of election integrity would be an understatement—he should be commended as a champion of free and fair elections who has served at the helm in the face of unprecedented headwinds. The landmark reforms enacted last year have gone a long way toward repairing the trust of millions of disenfranchised American voters who question our system of elections and whether showing up at the polls can even make a difference. But much more work remains to be done to protect the right to vote in Florida. We urge the legislature to continue lighting the way on these important issues, critical not just in Florida, but to all Americans seeking renewed faith in a democratic process they can believe in. By making additional improvements to strengthen ballot integrity, deterring ballot trafficking and fraudulent activities, and cleaning up unsecure and unverifiable voting practices, legislators can help ensure everyone’s voice is heard and their votes counted fairly and openly.”
Importantly, S.B. 524 would further restrict private and foreign money from being selectively funneled into local elections to affect turnout and make stipulations for voter roll maintenance, citizenship verification, petition signature retention, signature verification for absentee ballots, and ballot integrity—including certificate envelopes with last four digits of SSN.
The legislation also would establish a statewide office of Election Crimes and Security to “investigate election crimes and irregularities and make referrals for further legal action directly to a statewide prosecutor,” while increasing criminal penalties for falsified voter registrations, falsified petition signatures, nursing home fraud, and ballot trafficking.
Polls show the majority of voters, including Black and Hispanic voters, as well as urban and independent voters, overwhelmingly support voter I.D. protections and want it to be easy to vote and hard to cheat.
The Election Transparency Initiative, a partnership between American Principles Project (APP) and the national pro-life group Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List), was organized to combat H.R. 1 and H.R. 4 and advocate for state-based election reforms that voters can trust.
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