DeSantis calls for new Florida police force to go after election crimes

Gov. Ron DeSantis vowed on Wednesday to create a fully-staffed statewide law-enforcement office whose sole job would be to crack down on election crimes despite previously praising Florida’s smooth 2020 elections and rebuffing calls by members of his own party for an audit,

DeSantis, who is running for reelection and is considered a potential 2024 presidential contender, is also pressing state lawmakers to increase the criminal penalty for violating new restrictions on collecting mail-in ballots. He also wants to enact new deadlines on when local election officials must scrub their voter rolls for people who had died or moved.

“I guarantee you this: The first person that gets caught, no one is going to want to do it again after that,” said DeSantis at a West Palm Beach event billed as a “press conference” but featured dozens of DeSantis supporters who loudly applauded the governor. At one point, the crowd cheered “Let’s go Brandon” — a conservative rallying cry against President Joe Biden.

The governor also said he wants the GOP-controlled Legislature to put additional restrictions on the use of drop boxes.

“I don’t even think we should have drop boxes,” said DeSantis even though he signed the bill two years ago that first authorized their use in the state.

Under the governor’s proposal, Florida would create an “Office of Election Crimes and Security” that would have 25 sworn law-enforcement agents as well as other investigators to probe voter fraud and other election law violations. LINK