While supporters of proposed constitutional amendments face stringent requirements for gathering petition signatures, Gov. Ron DeSantis contends additional steps could be needed.
As he crusades against proposals on the November ballot that would allow recreational use of marijuana and enshrine abortion rights in the state Constitution, DeSantis this week suggested more anti-fraud measures are needed.
“There’s a lot of money that’s at stake here,” DeSantis said Monday during an appearance in Orlando. “People make money off the petition process. There's an incentive to commit fraud. The Legislature tried to address it, but I don't think that they've addressed it adequately.”
Backers of proposed constitutional amendments had to submit at least 891,523 valid petition signatures to get initiatives on this year’s ballot.
The Republican-controlled Legislature and DeSantis in recent years have banned a longstanding practice of paying petition gatherers based on the number of signatures they collect. They also have required petition forms to include information identifying petition gatherers, who are required to register with the state.
DeSantis’ comment came as he responded to a question about the recent arrest of a petition gatherer amid an investigation by the state’s Office of Election Crimes and Security.
Last week, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement announced that Colton Brady, 34 of Fayetteville, Ga., was arrested Sept. 5 on eight counts of petition fraud crimes, including criminal use of a dead person’s information and submitting false voter registration information.
An agency news release said Brady’s arrest was tied to “petition fraud on the personal use of marijuana initiative” and that Brady submitted 71 invalid forms.
But the Smart & Safe Florida political committee, which is leading efforts to pass this year’s recreational-marijuana initiative, said Brady wasn’t part of their ballot drive, despite the possible inference by the state agency. The committee said Brady collected signatures for another marijuana measure. The Smart & Safe initiative will appear on the November ballot as Amendment 3.
"That initiative (involving Brady) was completely separate and independent from Amendment 3 and these signatures were not related to Amendment 3,” Smart & Safe Florida said in a statement. “This individual was never paid by Smart & Safe Florida nor do we have any record of affiliation with him.”
DeSantis backed the FDLE announcement as “accurate.”
“This was somebody who had submitted fraudulent petitions, I think, during the 2022 (election) cycle. That's a fraud. I mean, we're not going to turn our backs on that,” DeSantis said.
Subscribe to Creative Loafing newsletters.
Follow us: Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
As he crusades against proposals on the November ballot that would allow recreational use of marijuana and enshrine abortion rights in the state Constitution, DeSantis this week suggested more anti-fraud measures are needed.
“There’s a lot of money that’s at stake here,” DeSantis said Monday during an appearance in Orlando. “People make money off the petition process. There's an incentive to commit fraud. The Legislature tried to address it, but I don't think that they've addressed it adequately.”
Backers of proposed constitutional amendments had to submit at least 891,523 valid petition signatures to get initiatives on this year’s ballot.
The Republican-controlled Legislature and DeSantis in recent years have banned a longstanding practice of paying petition gatherers based on the number of signatures they collect. They also have required petition forms to include information identifying petition gatherers, who are required to register with the state.
DeSantis’ comment came as he responded to a question about the recent arrest of a petition gatherer amid an investigation by the state’s Office of Election Crimes and Security.
Last week, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement announced that Colton Brady, 34 of Fayetteville, Ga., was arrested Sept. 5 on eight counts of petition fraud crimes, including criminal use of a dead person’s information and submitting false voter registration information.
An agency news release said Brady’s arrest was tied to “petition fraud on the personal use of marijuana initiative” and that Brady submitted 71 invalid forms.
But the Smart & Safe Florida political committee, which is leading efforts to pass this year’s recreational-marijuana initiative, said Brady wasn’t part of their ballot drive, despite the possible inference by the state agency. The committee said Brady collected signatures for another marijuana measure. The Smart & Safe initiative will appear on the November ballot as Amendment 3.
"That initiative (involving Brady) was completely separate and independent from Amendment 3 and these signatures were not related to Amendment 3,” Smart & Safe Florida said in a statement. “This individual was never paid by Smart & Safe Florida nor do we have any record of affiliation with him.”
DeSantis backed the FDLE announcement as “accurate.”
“This was somebody who had submitted fraudulent petitions, I think, during the 2022 (election) cycle. That's a fraud. I mean, we're not going to turn our backs on that,” DeSantis said.
Subscribe to Creative Loafing newsletters.
Follow us: Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
