Florida governor signs controversial ‘election integrity’ act News
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Florida governor signs controversial ‘election integrity’ act

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Monday signed controversial legislation SB524 into law. The bill purports to “ensure that Florida continues to have secure and accurate elections,” but voting rights advocates argue the bill is unnecessary and dangerous.

The bill increases penalties for violations of election laws, mandates closer attention to voting rolls, and creates an Office of Election Crimes and Security within the Florida Department of State (DOS). Additionally, the DOS must also make recommendations by February 1, 2023, to strengthen voter identification requirements for mail-in ballots.

After reviewing extensive studies on voter fraud, The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law reported that “fraud is very rare, voter imper­son­a­tion is virtu­ally nonex­ist­ent, and many instances of the alleged fraud are, in fact, mistakes by voters or admin­is­trat­ors.” Similarly, The ACLU of Florida believes “voter fraud is a myth and an excuse for voter suppression.

Out of the nearly 11 million participants in Florida’s 2020 election, the DOS received 262 complaints of election fraud. The DOS found reason to refer only 75 cases to law enforcement.

Earlier this week, a group of organizations and individuals filed a lawsuit against Florida officials for allegedly violating the Fair Districts Amendment to Florida’s constitution. The Amendment was passed 12 years ago to ensure equal voting power for racial and language minorities.