Florida House passes election police bill, sends it to gov

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida lawmakers on Wednesday passed a voting law package that would create a police force dedicated to pursuing election crimes, a proposal pushed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The GOP-controlled House approved the measure on a party lines vote with Republicans in support. The bill now heads to the governor’s office, where it is expected to be signed into law.

DeSantis, a potential 2024 presidential candidate, called for an election police unit in a speech last year where he referenced unspecified cases of fraud. Such allegations have become popular in parts of the GOP that have embraced former President Donald Trump’s false claims that his reelection was stolen due to widespread fraud.

Voter fraud is rare and generally detected. An Associated Press investigation of every potential case of voter fraud in the six battleground states disputed by Trump — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — found fewer than 475 cases out of 25.5 million ballots cast. There is also consensus among election officials and experts that there was no fraud that could have impacted results in the last presidential election.

-snip-

By ANTHONY IZAGUIRRE
35 minutes ago


Read more: https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-crime-police-florida-voting-3d66da7e765a0dd7f4db590654185c26

[RKP5637]

1. We're coming for you. Vote GOP or else!!! n/t

[cloudbase]

2. They'll have to manufacture crimes

to justify their existence.

[GB_RN]

12. That's The Idea...

And, harass and intimidate minorities at the polls because they "heard" there was something fishy going on at those precincts.

[rgbecker]

3. Meanwhile, in NC we have Mark Meadows.

Wonder what the "Election Police" would do with him?

[highplainsdem]

4. And every time you think the Florida GOP can't get nastier or crazier...

[ShazzieB]

10. Does anyone really still think that?

Anyone who doesn't expect the FL GOP to keep looking for ways to get nastier or crazier hasn't been paying attention, imo.

Same with TX and a bunch of other red states. ID is one of the pack leaders at the moment, but it's just a matter of time before some other red state surpasses even them.

[Jimvanhise]

5. ELECTION POLICE?

When Obama was running for his second term, 5 guys calling themselves the New Black Panther Party showed up as poll watches, and Fox News had a meltdown. But apparently Florida having election police is fine with them. When other countries had election police, it was to insure that the dictator in chief was re-elected.

[Evolve Dammit]

6. Death Sentence's own good squad

[patphil]

7. And we're absolutely certain this will never be used as a partisan tool to intimidate voters.

How effin' transparent is this? First make it hard to vote, then come down hard on people who do vote.
Voter fraud is in itself a fraud perpetuated by Republicans. Election police is an agency looking for a reason to exist.
Unfortunately, the reason is to insure the Republicans never lose another election.

[Orrex]

8. I'm sure that this totally won't be abused in favor of the GOP at all.

[turbinetree]

9. Let's see Florida now has goons checking voting, Texas you damn near can't vote....

and now hidden in plain site is what is called the Independent State Legislature (ISL) doctrine.

How the right turned a fringe constitutional theory into a brutal political weapon that could lock in GOP power
While this week has brought good news on voting rights from the Supreme Court, it may very well be a temporary win.

In a pair of orders issued on Monday, the justices allowed court-ordered congressional maps to stand in North Carolina and Pennsylvania , refusing to interfere with decisions by those state supreme courts. Republicans in both states had asked the court to block those maps under a tortured legal theory that has been advancing on the right, known as the Independent State Legislature (ISL) doctrine.

Make no mistake: This is a tremendous victory for voters in both states. The North Carolina state Supreme Court had rejected a GOP-drawn congressional map that guaranteed Republicans at least 10 and potentially 11 of the state's 14 seats as a violation of the state constitution. In Pennsylvania, where the state Supreme Court unwound last decade's extreme GOP gerrymander in 2018, that court mandated what most observers consider a balanced 9-8 map that does not favor either party.

The orders indicate an unlikely alliance. While the Pennsylvania order was unsigned, it appears the three liberals were joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett to deny the emergency application in the North Carolina case, with a concurrence by Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch joined Justice Alito's dissent.

Yet while fair maps in North Carolina and Pennsylvania dodged a bullet, there is frightening news: As we first warned in Salon last September , the Independent State Legislature doctrine remains a live threat to free elections. Alito's dissent called the ISL — which speaks to whether a state court has the power to reject laws adopted by a state legislature concerning federal elections, or whether the legislature has unfettered control — "an exceptionally important and recurring question of constitutional law."

RELATED: Beware the "Independent State Legislatures doctrine" — it could checkmate democracy

https://news.knowledia.com/US/en/articles/will-the-independent-state-legislature-doctrine-literally-mean-the-end-of-301b235a001573900a4f08513806b06a3a68bb4a

[Akoto]

11. I never thought I would miss Skeletor. Would that I could flee FL. n/t

[SouthBayDem]

13. Defund the...Election Police. nt

[PufPuf23]

14. Why doesn't DeSantis and the Florida GOP make voting while Democrat illegal?

Much more straightforward, honest, and easier to enforce.

[XacerbatedDem]

15. How come I feel like I'm reading Orwell's "1984" all over again?

This is how it starts. What's next for FL, Thought Police?

[intheflow]

16. The party of small government strikes again! n/t