As Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis continues his effort to ensure the integrity of Florida’s election process, he is discovering the one thing leftists say does not exist; voter fraud.
DeSantis just announced that his Election Crime Unit has found yet another instance of voter fraud with the announced arrest of Cheryl Ann Leslie, who has been charged with casting multiple ballots in more than one state.
The 55-year-old Florida citizen was arrested and charged on two third-degree felony counts of voter fraud for voting in several elections in both Alaska and Florida, Florida’s Voice News reported.
The Florida Secretary of State’s office told the media that Leslie sent in an absentee ballot to Alaska and then also voted in person in Palm Beach County during the state’s early voting time.
The case was sent to the Election Crime Unit for further investigation and she was booked into the Palm Beach County jail on $1,000 bail.
Leslie, a resident of Loxahatchee, Florida, and a registered Democrat, apparently voted illegally in the 2020 elections, according to Fox News.
“The Florida Department of State, Office of Election Crimes and Security is grateful for our partnership with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement,” Secretary of State and Chief Election Officer Cord Byrd, said in a statement. “This arrest is yet another confirmation to every eligible Florida voter that the Department of State and FDLE are working together to ensure the integrity of their vote and Florida’s elections process.”
Florida’s Office of Election Crimes and Security is a new police unit created in 2021 under legislation signed by Gov. DeSantis (Senate Bill 524).
DeSantis announced his intention to create the new police unit as part of his election integrity reforms back in November of last year.
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The charges against Leslie are not the first results coming out of the election crime unit. The unit has also filed voter fraud charges across the state including charges filed against 20 people who allegedly voted in 2020 despite having criminal convictions that bar them from voting.
The violations were perpetrated by convicted murderers and sex offenders who voted without receiving restoration of voting rights from the government.
Convicts had their voting rights restored in Florida in 2018, but there are certain rules to that restoration. For instance, convicted murderers and sexual assailants do not qualify for the restoration of their right to vote.
“They are disqualified from voting because they’ve been convicted of either murder or sexual assault, and they do not have the right to vote. They have been disenfranchised under Florida law … That is against the law, and now they’re going to pay the price for it,” the announcement said.
If convicted, those accused could be sentenced to a five-year prison sentence for the third-degree felony charge.
When DeSantis signed the legislation for the new office in April, he insisted that Florida was sending a “clear signal” to those looking to subvert the election process.
“Today’s actions send a clear signal to those who are thinking about ballot harvesting or fraudulently voting. If you commit an elections crime, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” DeSantis said.
DeSantis has continually focused on election fraud since coming to office. In September of last year, he even began an investigation of Facebook for manipulating the 2020 election.
Florida is not alone in working to put an end to election fraud. Just last week, the Milwaukee Election Commission fired commissioner Kimberly Zapata for trying to illegally take possession of military mail-in ballots requested under false names.
Also, an election worker in Michigan was arrested for “extremely egregious” tampering with voting equipment. And Los Angeles authorities arrested the CEO of an election software company for possible theft of voters’ personal information and ties to China.
