The last presidential elections had not even begun and since then the Republicans, mainly former President Donald Trump and his supporters, have been spreading the word that the results would be rigged. They spoke of fraud in favor of the Democrats.
In the most mentioned states, Florida, Georgia and Virginia, important electoral scenarios were then created, special working groups managed by local police authorities in order to investigate possible fraud.
But after the elections, which gave victory to Joe Biden, and the work of these groups concluded, two weeks after the midterm elections, the conclusion is that there are no notable cases, no massive fraud, and no systemic problems.
“I’m not aware of any significant detection of fraud on Election Day, but it’s not surprising,” said Paul Smith, vice president of the Campaign Legal Center, an independent group that seeks to advance democracy. In fact, he adds, “the whole concept of voter impersonation fraud is a horribly overstated problem. It does not change the outcome of the elections, it is a serious crime, you run the risk of being imprisoned and you have a high possibility of being surprised. It is a rare phenomenon, ”he said in statements to the AP agency.
This conclusion is important because it disarms the argument of Trump and his supporters about possible fraud, an idea that has permeated the Republican party itself.
An AP investigation also found there was no widespread fraud in Georgia or the five other closely fought states in which Trump contested his 2020 defeat, and no evidence of it in this year’s election. Certification of results is progressing smoothly in most states, with few complaints.
In Georgia, where Trump tried to pressure local officials to “find” enough votes to overturn his defeat, a new law gives the state’s top law enforcement agency, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the authority to launch investigations of alleged vote fraud without solicitation by election officials. The alleged violation would have to be significant enough to modify or unleash doubts about the outcome of an election.
Nelly Miles, a spokeswoman for the agency, said the agency has not launched any investigation under the law. The GBI is supporting the secretary of state’s office in an investigation into a breach of voting equipment in Coffee County in 2021, but that is their only investigation into voter fraud, she said.
Florida has been the state with the most visible activity, creating its Office of Election Crime and Security amid much environmental noise this year and fulfilling a promise by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis to crack down on unspecified voter fraud.
The office is under the Florida Department of State. He reviews the allegations and then instructs the state police to go after those who have broken the law.
This summer DeSantis announced that the electoral unit had arrested 20 people for voting illegally in the 2020 election, when the state had 14.4 million registered voters. The detainees were all ex-convicts who thought that, once released, their political rights had been restored. None have been charged.
The midterm elections were the first of any magnitude since a constitutional amendment in Florida restored voting rights to felony inmates, except for those convicted of murder or felony sex crimes or those who still owe fines. , fees or compensation.
One of the accused, Robert Lee Wood, 56, was arrested at his home after police officers surrounded and knocked on his door early one morning. She spent two days in jail. Her attorney, Larry Davis, said her client did not believe she was breaking the law because she was able to register to vote without any problems. Davis considered that the police reaction in this case was “excessive”.
In late October, a Miami judge dismissed Woods’ case for jurisdictional reasons, since it was brought by the State Attorney’s Office instead of local Miami prosecutors. The state is appealing the ruling.
Andrea Mercado, executive director of Florida Rising, an independent political advocacy organization focused on economic and racial justice, said the disproportionate retaliation against such likely voters was sending a “shocking message to all citizens reintegrating into society.” and who wish to register to vote”.
