We have already had successes with the election fraud task force I formed in August… The recent search warrants executed in the ongoing criminal investigation into computerized absentee ballot requests has already resulted in the resignation of the chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Joe Garcia.  Arrests virtually stopped the ballot brokers (boletería) in the November election — another testament to what we have already accomplished.

Our task force investigations are only one effort to attack voter fraud. I asked the Miami-Dade Grand Jury to review the issue… The recommendations of the grand jury did lead the Legislature to outlaw paying people or accepting payments to collect absentee ballots. It is now a first-degree misdemeanor crime. This is a half-step toward what is actually needed to foil vote manipulators, making such activities felony crimes. A misdemeanor charge will not deter them and will not result in a jail sentence.

However, the Legislature chose not to pass a number of reforms that might have helped ensure honest elections. Although recommended by the grand jury, Florida still does not outlaw collecting absentee ballots… The Legislature chose not to pass the strongest prosecutorial tool available to help fight fraud, a reinstitution of the witness signature requirement on all absentee ballots. This was the tool that allowed me to file charges against more than 60 defendants and convict them in the 1997 Miami mayoral election. That election was overturned because of absentee voter fraud…

Almost all voter fraud is committed through the use of absentee ballots. If we really are committed to the fight against voter fraud, all of us must play a role. Citizens must not only be our eyes and ears, they must urge our legislators to reform our laws. During the last legislative session, I went to Tallahassee to advocate for stronger protections for the integrity of our elections. We must repeatedly tell our legislators that we want true reform, not Band-Aid solutions.