ACLU Accuses DeSantis of ‘Grotesque Abuse of Power’ for Voter Arrests

The ACLU of Florida on Wednesday condemned Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis following the publication of police body camera videos showing sympathetic officers arresting confused people—most of them Black—who believed they were eligible to vote for alleged “voter fraud.”

“The body camera footage reveals the real, human impact of these anti-voter schemes and the confusion it has created. It is devastating for our communities,” the civil liberties group said in a statement.

Of the 19 people that DeSantis’ Office of Election Crimes and Security arrested, 13 were Black and 12 had registered as Democrats. Most had applied to register to vote under Amendment 4, a voter-approved 2018 ballot measure meant to restore voting rights for 1.4 million former felons. The stakes transcended Florida and criminal justice reform—a botched state voter purge of purported former felons played what one federal civil rights commissioner called an “outcome determinative” role in the 2000 U.S. presidential election.

Besides, most of the applicants who were arrested were approved by the Florida Department of Elections, which sent their voter registration cards ahead of the 2020 elections. All faced charges of third-degree felony voter fraud, a crime punishable by as many as five years behind bars and up to a $5,000 fine.

“The arrests are a grotesque abuse of power by Gov. DeSantis,” ACLU of Florida continued. “Although the governor and Legislature claimed that they passed S.B. 7066 in 2019 to ‘clarify’ Voting Restoration Amendment 4, in reality, the law created an unworkable pay-to-vote system that is intentionally difficult and complex to navigate.”

In what some critics called a backlash against Amendment 4, Republican state lawmakers in 2019 passed S.B. 7600, which created wealth-based hurdles to former felons wishing to restore their voting rights by requiring them to pay all outstanding fines, fees, and restitution before acquiring permission to vote.

Furthermore, a federal judge in 2020 ruled that S.B. 7600 violates the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause, the 24th Amendment’s poll tax proscription, and the National Voter Registration Act.

Also, the encouragement and assistance aspiring voters—including prisoners—received from Florida officials in restoring their rights exacerbated the confusion experienced by many of those shown being arrested in the videos, as well as the officers who apprehended them.

“The state of Florida has failed its citizens,” ACLU of Florida asserted. “People returning to our communities have no choice but to navigate a maze of bureaucracy in order to determine whether they are eligible to vote.”

“Compounding the failure is the fact that Florida has no central database of convictions and outstanding legal financial obligations to help returning citizens navigate the confusing rules the state created to undermine the promise of Amendment 4,” the organization added.

“When people register and/or vote without realizing they’re ineligible, the proper course should be to cancel their registration, not prosecute them,” argued ACLU of Florida. “It is the state’s responsibility to determine the eligibility of Floridians registering to vote, and the state should devote resources to determining a voter’s eligibility, not to upend lives in order to prosecute mistakes.”

Originally published at Commondreams.org.