‘Dangerous’: Civil rights groups warn Florida’s ‘election police’ could be used to intimidate voters

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Florida’s state legislature has approved the creation of a new office dedicated to the investigation of election-related crimes, among the latest state-level Republican efforts targeting voting rights and election administration. We have real needs in Florida to address, and this is not one of them.” Genesis Robinson, political director of Black-led nonpartisan rights group Equal Ground Action Fund, echoed those criticisms in remarks to Congress, calling the bill “a ridiculous solution to a problem that does not exist.” The bill is “nothing more than a tool to further insulate Republican political power at the expense of Floridian’s voting rights,” he said in a statement to The Independent. “Our political atmosphere has become so polarized and divisive, and we at Equal Ground have genuine concerns that this new agency will be weaponized to attack political enemies and divert attention and resources from the real work of making voting more accessible to those who desire to participate in the democratic process.” The legislation also requires election officials to perform annual maintenance of voter rolls, rather than biennial reviews, which could purge thousands of registered voters from the rolls. We must do everything in our power to protect our freedom to vote in safe and secure elections.” Bipartisan efforts to protect and expand voting rights in 2020 saw few issues in that year’s elections, but a baseless narrative promoted by Donald Trump and his allies alleging mass voter fraud and “stolen” results has fuelled a wave of GOP- Florida’s Department of State received 262 election-fraud complaints 2020 and referred 75 to law enforcement, while more than 11 million Florida voters participated in that year’s presidential election.