Overview
- State leaders announced on Thursday that prosecutors have charged 20 people in an active investigation into illegal voting, with 12 of the defendants already in custody.
- State prosecutors say 16 defendants are accused noncitizens who allegedly falsely affirmed U.S. citizenship to register and vote and four are charged felons who voted while on probation.
- Most counts are filed as third-degree felonies that carry potential multi-year sentences, and officials said many defendants could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
- The cases began with referrals from the state Office of Election Crimes and county supervisors, used matches to federal immigration databases and then sought USCIS confirmations to verify noncitizen status.
- The announcement comes about six weeks before the midterm election and follows years of Florida election-law changes including SB 524, with critics noting prior late-cycle arrests that were later dismissed and warning that database matches often narrow after case-by-case review.