‘What the hell’: Confusion over voter fraud arrests in DeSantis’ crackdown

New bodycam footage gives a fresh glimpse into the confusion and bewilderment felt by some during Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' crackdown on alleged voter fraud. CNN's Leyla Santiago has more. #CNN #News

53 comments

  1. Tell people in writing if they cannot vote. This is ridiculous because they think they can. They were given a voter card. That’s entrapment.

    1. @OriginalPiMan I know in my state they do. My brother was a felon. Before he passed away he was wanting to apply to have his rights restored, but it wasn’t very cheap.

    2. @Mojokuku
      As I said, it differs by state.
      In Florida it used to be that you’d need permission from an allegedly biased panel to regain voting rights, but otherwise the rights were lost for life.
      Most states have some restrictions on felons voting. Just two have no restrictions at all and allow voting while serving time.

    3. @Geeknoid
      In Florida, if you have fully served your time (including paying related debts), then you can legally register and vote. (With exceptions for specific felonies)
      Considering that there is often no way to know if you’ve paid all your fines, because Florida’s systems are inadequate, and they were told that they wouldn’t get a voter ID if they weren’t allowed one, then at least some of these people voted in good faith and with the reasonable belief that they could legally vote.

  2. 20 people in the state, ALLEGED to have committed fraud. Wow. A number like that could have definitely overturned the final count šŸ™„

    1. @Brian Holloway You’re assuming everything they’ve done is above board and they’ve been completely honest in their statements. I’m not making a judgement either way I’m just positing reasons for why what you say could be wrong not that it is definitely wrong. I’m waiting for due process to play out and have both sides present their case. Because I actually care for the integrity of the ballot and don’t just pretend to care and base my stance on the potential likelihood of voter fraud around whether it benefits Democrats or Republicans like a certain someone or in this case many many someones.

    2. @Brian Holloway “no one in these cases falsified documentation or lied”
      Nice going asserting to know something you have no capability of knowing let alone could have gathered from this clip.

    3. @Wayne Morgan no Iā€™m not assuming. Iā€™m a assuming the government worker(s) who reviewed the documents and generated the voter IDs did their job. You are assuming people did a crime and that sir is not how an ā€œinnocent until proven guiltyā€ universe works. You are going through a great many hoops to assume things not remotely attenuated. Especially considering the statements the attorney made if you watched the video. Due process isnā€™t what you think it is either because you canā€™t be arrested just off the cuff. That is literally a 4th and 5th amendment at a minimum lol itā€™s basically why DOJ was created. To stop what you seem to suggest is ok

      Why?

    4. @Wayne Morgan we know because the woman literally said what happened and we have the actual forms with voter registration cards. Lol like do you understand what you have to do to overcome that? You legally donā€™t make sense. Like one of the individuals had their house surrounded. You. Donā€™t. Make. Sense.

    1. The state of Florida said they was allowed to vote, the. The state of Florida arrested them for voting. They applied to be reinstated & the state said yea

    1. @Nick Martin Trump told Nancy to send troops before the rioting. Why did she???Are you going to hold her accountable!!!

  3. This is too extreme to arrest someone like this. The positive here is that the lady didn’t resist and therefore cops didn’t have an excuse to hurt her. Smart lady!

    1. @Minuette The positive here is that the lady didn’t resist and therefore cops didn’t have an excuse to hurt her. “It’s because she wised up after 20 years in Jail.”

  4. It didnā€™t sound like it was noted here, but felons donā€™t always lose the right to vote, or it is only temporary. Just depends on location. Donā€™t automatically link felon to voter fraud.

    1. In Florida, not only do they lose the right, but they almost never get it back. Previously they had to wait 5 years before they could even apply for restoration, and then most aren’t even given a hearing or get denied.

  5. Why would they get a voter registration card in the first place? This is just ridiculous. These people who got arrested got entrapped.

  6. The state dropped the ball, not only should the people be found NOT Guilty, they should all sue the state and DeSantis.

    1. @Larry dude did you forget your meds again, you make absolutely no sense at all. šŸ¤£šŸ˜…šŸ˜†šŸ˜„

    2. If a bank gives you money and you spend it. They can take it back or charge you for a crime.

      Why wouldn’t felons know they can’t vote ?

      I learned that in 5th grade.

  7. It is *obscene* that they black out the faces of the officers for their protection, then display that poor woman’s face all across the nation so she can be hunted and harassed by the Alex Jones crowd. *Obscene.*

    1. @Milky Mustache For a violent crime, absolutely notā€¦for others with non-violent crimes, absolutely should be able to earn gun rights backā€¦voting should never be removedā€¦just because you committed a crime, makes no sense your not able to voteā€¦you still have to abide by the rules and laws set by the people you voted forā€¦all citizens should be able to vote regardless.

  8. Unbelievable. Actually believable in Florida. To get the card after applying from the state and then get arrested by the state is absurd.

  9. ā€œPeople that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves and traitors are not victimsā€¦ but accomplices”. āš”
    George Orwell

  10. I don’t see how the State can prove intent. If receiving voter ID from the State is common with most or all of these folks, the charges should be dropped immediately. They aren’t the Court, but it’s clear that the arrests were political theater, and maybe even a violation of civil rights. This could get interesting.

    1. They’re not interested in proving intent. They’re interested in intimidating people. Well spent money, ain’t it? This is beyond the pale.

    2. @Thorax999 It appears that you may be unaware of the definition of the term fascist. Books could help you with that.

  11. They wouldnā€™t have been able to vote if they werenā€™t on the voter rolls. Their voter registration application was supposed to be rejected.

  12. Even if these arrests stop immediately, This could scare eligible people out of voting. EDIT: nvm, I guess thatā€™s the point?

  13. The worst part about this is the real personal consequences like wages lost, the cost of the bail, the possibility of being harassed by crazy people and unwanted publicity on people who have served their time and are now being punished again. Some of these things can be extremely difficult for poor people or someone just trying to get their life back together. It is sickening that these people are being used for a political stunt. The most that should have come out of this was a letter and removal from voter rolls.

    1. ā€‹@Aspartame69 didnt they already served time? what punishment they deserve when all they did is practice a right they told they can practice again?

  14. From the sounds of it… they should all be found innocent since they were lead to believe they were able to vote. It’s appalling that their time and lives are being upended like this over something so trivial. I hope they are able to turn around and sue the state of Florida.

    1. These people have grounds to sue the state and the people of Florida will probably have to pay. Keep supporting Desantis theater, you can pay for more to come

  15. This reminds me of a case that happened in Ohio about 20 years ago – think “motor-voter” laws. A fellow emigrated here from Australia. He worked hard, obeyed the laws, paid his taxes – pretty much an upstanding individual – and he even started a small company with several employees doing construction and remodeling work. His driver’s license was getting ready to expire, so when he went to the Ohio license bureau (I live in Kentucky so I don’t know what the legal term for that is.) to renew it. During the process the clerk asked him if he was registered to vote, and if not, did he want to register.

    Now apparently, in Australia, there are several States, as well as the island of Tasmania and several smaller islands. Your citizenship and voting rights all apply evenly throughout. If you are a citizen and you live in any of those places you can vote. No unique registration required.

    When the clerk asked him if he wanted to register, he thought “Well. They must do something similar here!” He even told the clerk that he was an Australian citizen, not an American citizen yet, and the clerk told him that that didn’t matter. If he registered he could vole. So he registered, and when the next election came about, he voted. Next thing he knew he was arrested and charged with voter fraud and was threatened with deportation.

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