Political Currents

State GOP slow to react on charges of voter fraud

 

Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau

“I just want to make sure we’re all on the same page,” Bucher said.

Cate deferred the issue to FDLE, saying it was up to that agency to determine the scope of any review of forms filed by the Glen Allen, Va.-based firm. Other than a broader review, Cate said supervisors should be more vigilant.

Cate’s boss, Detzner, has yet to speak publicly on the issue. On Monday, Detzner was in St. Augustine attending a meeting on Florida’s 500th anniversary, which is next year.

Gov. Rick Scott has yet to speak publicly on the matter either. He was in New York on Monday appearing on Fox News with Neil Cavuto, where the subject of the firm didn’t come up. When his office was asked by the Times/Herald why he hadn’t spoken about the case, a spokeswoman replied by email.

“The Republican Party of Florida did the right thing by quickly firing the company connected to faulty voter registration forms in Florida and other states across the country,” said the email from Jackie Schutz. “That company has also been referred to FDLE for a criminal investigation. We have zero tolerance for any illegal voting activity in Florida.”

When asked if Scott actually said this, Schutz emailed back: “Please attribute to the governor.”

Just how many registration forms are flawed is still unclear. Counties like Bay, Walton and Escambia report a handful of flawed forms. Miami-Dade is reporting at least eight questionable applications, three for La Raza, five for the RPOF. Palm Beach and Santa Rosa counties said there were more than 100 forms that raised questions in their counties.

“It was someone in a hurry to make a buck,” said Ann Bodenstein, Santa Rosa’s supervisor of elections. She said the forms in her county appear to have been filled out by different people. Many were blatantly incorrect, including one that was signed recently for a 19-year-old who died six months ago.

Times staff writer Steve Bousquet contributed to this story.

Michael Van Sickler can be reached at (850) 224-7263 or vansicklertbtimes@gmail.com.

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