Miami-Dade judge dismisses voter fraud charge against man in rebuke to Gov. DeSantis election fraud force
MIAMI -- A Miami-Dade judge on Friday dismissed charges against a local man who had been caught up in voter fraud allegations lodged by a newly created task force to crack down on elections improprieties.
Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Milton Hirsch ruled that the Office of Statewide Prosecutor had exceeded its statutory power under state law.
"That plenary power -- the power to invigilate all Florida elections, whether federal, state, or municipal -- is not consigned to OSP by (statute) 16.56," the judge wrote in a seven-page ruling.
The state could still choose to appeal the decision, but voting rights advocates applauded the move.
"This strengthens our resolve to continue to place people over politics and honor the commitment we made to the 1.4 million people impacted by Amendment 4, who should be enjoying the opportunity to fully participate in our democracy," the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition said in a written statement. "The decision is a step in the right direction in our continuing fight for election integrity and Florida's returning citizens."
The dismissal is a rebuke to Gov. Ron DeSantis and the arrests of up to 20 people by the governor's Office of Election Crimes and Security, which was created by state lawmakers to help root out voter fraud.
The OSP had accused Robert Lee Wood, 56, of voting illegally in the 2020 election.
He had been convicted of second-degree murder in 1991, a conviction that made him ineligible to vote.
But he registered to vote after state voters overwhelmingly adopted Amendment 4, which changed the state constitution and restoring voting rights to nearly all offenders who had felony records provided they met the conditions of their sentencing.
Woods was one of 19 people total who had been accused of voting illegally two years ago, with the statewide prosecutor accusing them of breaking election laws when they cast ballots in multiple jurisdictions that were different from where they first registered to vote.
According to the Miami Herald, when Wood signed up to vote, his registration form went to the Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections, who then forwarded that form to the Secretary of State's office in Leon County to verify his eligibility. That meant multiple jurisdictions when they registered to vote and then cast a ballot.
The Herald reported that the Secretary of State's office, which reports to DeSantis, verified the eligibility of Wood, who received a voter ID card. When Wood voted on Nov. 3, 2020, he cast a ballot in Miami-Dade, and his vote was certified in Leon County.
Lawyers for Wood argued that the allegations of criminal acts took place only in Miami-Dade and Wood took no part in transferring the application somewhere else, the Herald reported.
Read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/article267659012.html#storylink=cpy