A new law gives Gov. Ron DeSantis’s election prosecutors more power to amp up Republican-led voter suppression efforts, after their first round of cases largely flopped.
Robert Barrar, one of the attorneys whothat the statewide prosecutor can’t bring illegal voting cases, said the burden should be on the state, rather than the voter, to determine voting eligibility. He described the prosecutions as a “colossal waste” of taxpayer resources.
Another 42% of cases are still pending, meaning the election crimes office has not yet finished vetting them. Meanwhile, DeSantis has asked the Legislature to increase the budget and size of the election crimes office, according to a recent. The governor asked for $3.1 million and 27 staff positions, significantly higher than the $1.2 million and 15 staff positions approved last summer. That’s despite the fact that the unit has filled only three of those 15 positions, an organizational chartin January showed. One of those three employees is a political operative, the news outlet found.
The Florida Department of State, which oversees the election crimes office, did not respond to questions about the office’s work and the budget increase request.
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