Florida Vote Fraud: A Case Study of the Need for Open, Fair and Honest Elections

The Republican National Lawyers Association (RNLA) fights for open, fair and honest elections. 

A prime example of the need for this is what is going on right now in Florida. Let us explain.

Open Elections

The Broward County Supervisor of Elections “engaged in ongoing violations of Florida law governing the canvassing of vote-by-mail ballots [absentee ballots]. [T]ens of thousands of vote-by-mail ballots in Broward County are being opened by your staff: (1) before they have been canvassed by the county canvassing board; and (2) without providing the public the opportunity to review or file a protest against the canvass of a ballot believed to be legally deficient. These illegal actions must stop immediately.”  [Letter from the Republican Party of Florida to the Broward County Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes, Nov. 2, 2016.]

Under pressure and possible legal action, Snipes is now opening the processing a little bit but not enough.  An RNLA member was key to shining sunlight on this process.  

How can there be confidence in the system when one election official is counting ballots illegally behind closed doors? 

Fair Elections

Election officials in Florida have already been caught committing vote fraud. 

Gladys Coego, 74, a temporary Election Support Specialist for the Miami-Dade Elections Department tasked with opening mail-in ballots and scanning them into the machine, is accused of marking ballot choices that were originally left blank, according to CBS4 News partner The Miami Herald. . . . In a second arrest, police said Tomika Curgil, 33, filled out voter-registration forms for five citizens without their consent and submitted at least 17 forms for people believed to not exist, including several who are dead.  

Honest Elections

Vote Fraud has already disenfranchised Florida voters. 

By mid-October, Susan Halperin became concerned that she and her husband hadn't received their absentee ballots in the mail.  So Lawrence Halperin called the Seminole County Supervisor of Elections Office to find out what was going on. He was stunned to learn their ballots had already been cast. Someone had stolen the Halperins' ballots, faked their signatures and voted. . . .Supervisor of Elections Mike Ertel said they were among five voters in three homes in Spring Valley whose absentee ballots were stolen and then fraudulently submitted with votes cast by someone else. 

No one thinks these are the only cases; just the only ones who got caught.  Why does this matter?  Every fraudulent vote overrides a legitimate, real vote and disenfranchises an honest, eligible voter. 

Florida is just one state but it shows the need for open, fair and honest elections.  The RNLA seeks to promote open, fair and honest elections at all levels of American society in a non-discriminatory manner and to provide access to the polls to all qualified and eligible voters. Through its efforts, the RNLA strives to strengthen the faith and confidence of all citizens of the United States in their government and the electoral process.