Florida governor proposes special police agency to monitor elections

[demmiblue]

Source: WaPo

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A plan by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis would establish a special police force to oversee state elections — the first of its kind in the nation — and while his fellow Republicans have reacted tepidly, voting rights advocates fear that it will become law and be used to intimidate voters.

The proposed Office of Election Crimes and Security would be part of the Department of State, which answers to the governor. DeSantis is asking the GOP-controlled legislature to allocate nearly $6 million to hire 52 people to “investigate, detect, apprehend, and arrest anyone for an alleged violation” of election laws. They would be stationed at unspecified “field offices throughout the state” and act on tips from “government officials or any other person.”

DeSantis highlighted his plan as legislators opened their annual 60-day session last week.

“To ensure that elections are conducted in accordance with the rule of law, I propose an election integrity unit whose sole focus will be the enforcement of Florida’s election laws,” he said during his State of the State address. “This will facilitate the faithful enforcement of election laws and will provide Floridians with the confidence that their vote will matter.”

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/01/18/florida-governor-proposes-special-police-agency-monitor-elections/

[Sherman A1]

1. Dumbass, he already has one

It's called the Board of Elections in each county......

This is about intimidation nothing more.

[IronLionZion]

2. DeathSentence is worried he'll lose reelection

after losing way too many of his voters to COVID

[Cha]

28. Yeah, anyone with a brain would

have stopped feeding them Shit when they saw where this was going

[GB_RN]

3. Oh, HELL No!

No Republican Brownshirts wandering around polling places, intimidating the other side. That's all this is, he just wants them disguised as officials of the state, instead of being labeled as official party poll watchers.

Fuck you, Governor DeathSentence, you autocratic piece of shit!

[Pacifist Patriot]

9. Beat me to it. That was literally verbatim my reaction.

Oh, hell no!!!

[GB_RN]

13. Great Minds...

Think like me! 😉😁😂

[Pacifist Patriot]

17. Brilliant!

[Sancho]

4. The state headquarters should be in the Villages: home to the most election fraud of all...

[demmiblue]

12. Heh!

[pecosbob]

5. If I were King for a Day this fool would lose his head before the day was over

Will you arrest yourself when you disenfranchise Florida voters by limiting polling hours or locations, or forcing out-of-state university students to vote in their home state? Qualified immunity won't save your asses when you start getting civil suits from those you have deprived of their vote.

[SomewhereInTheMiddle]

23. That was my thought.

The first tip I would call in would be on legislators passing or even proposing restrictive voting laws, as well as poll workers asking for ID if there is no law requiring it and "poll watchers" who intimidate anyone, etc., etc.

[dalton99a]

6. DeSantis is a disgusting and dangerous opportunist.

[SouthernDem4ever]

7. Florida will have an election Gestapo

can it get any weirder?

[jcmaine72]

8. "Special Police Agency" to monitor elections?

You mean, like the Gestapo? Will these special police be wearing brown shirts or black ones?

52 people to “investigate, detect, apprehend, and arrest anyone for an alleged violation” of election laws.

Or, more specifically, arrest people whose votes DeSepsis disagrees with. Mark my words, this "special police agency" will be little more than an instrument to harass and intimidate Democrats, Liberals and Progressives.

[XacerbatedDem]

10. "To ensure that elections are conducted in accordance with the rule of law..."

Is he admitting his own election was not conducted in accordance with the rule of law?

[MiHale]

11. And then because they...

declared their party alliance the Democrats were given “special bus rides” to Camp Magic Kingdom by the new election police.

[BlueIdaho]

14. Fascism

Is alive and well in Florida.

[Miguelito Loveless]

15. And we'll give them snappy uniforms

maybe designed by Hugo Boss.

[smb]

16. Tips From "Government Officials Or Any Other Person"

Ah, good times....


Top-level trolling overloads ICE’s undocumented immigrant hotline with calls about space aliens

Teens, comedians and pranksters spam Trump’s voter fraud hotline

[Marcuse]

18. A special police force to monitor elections is most certainly not a first in Florida.

https://www.wftv.com/ocoee/july-perry/

[turbinetree]

19. Why not just rename the state.....Caporegime

[JustAnotherGen]

20. Shows why the VRA must be re-enacted (HR 4)

The 'Consent Decree' is/was (since we have no voting rights act anymore) the result of Governor Tom Kean's campaign working with Roger Stone and his goons to intimidate people at the polls . . .

This was in 1981 -in NJ.

DeSantis is trying to 'codify' it into law. Voting Rights Legislation would have forced him to see approval from DOJ - due to prior instances of voter suppression in Florida.

[samsingh]

21. i think he means - to monitor elections and ensure repugs 'win' and Black People don't vote

we can call them the Gestapo

[musclecar6]

22. Just

Another would be totalitarian dictator chomping at the bit. No shortage of Hitler/Mussolini/Stalin wannabe’s.

[Akoto]

24. Yeah, as a Floridian, he's the kind of guy I'd expect to want a "special police" agency. nt

[cstanleytech]

25. Will they wear brown shirts with swastika armbands?

[monkeyman1]

26. deathsentence policing himself , should be interesting ?

[allegorical oracle]

27. What else are they looking for?

I have a legit driver license (with a star in the upper right corner), have been registered and voted for more than 50 years. To earn the star I had to produce my earlier driver license, my certified birth certificate, my certified divorce decree from my first husband, my certified marriage certificate to my second husband, and two current household utility bills. First 36-mile trip I didn't bring the divorce decree, so had to make a second trip back to the Tax Collector's office (total of 72 miles driving) to accomplish the task.

Yet wearing an effing mask or getting vaccinated invades their freedom??

[Joinfortmill]

29. May a curse be placed upon him

[OriginalGeek]

30. As a Floridian what can I do,

If this stupid thing forms, to show up at voting places and clown these goobers?

I want to legally make fun of these dumbasses and make sure voters know they are toothless pieces of shit.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

31. And make sure the opposition doesn't vote.