One of the 20 people arrested by Florida’s new elections police force this summer had his charges dismissed Friday, in the first case to be resolved since Gov. Ron DeSantis launched his aggressive voter-fraud initiative.
Robert Lee Wood was arrested on Aug. 18 and charged with two counts of voter fraud because he had been convicted of a crime in 1990 and did not have his rights restored before he voted. On Friday, a Miami judge dismissed the case, ruling that the statewide prosecutor didn’t have jurisdiction.
The governor has said he will appeal.
In recent months, DeSantis (R) has vowed to carefully scrutinize who can vote. Earlier this year, Florida’s GOP-led legislature created an Office of Election Crimes and Security at the governor’s request.
DeSantis said the office would help prevent illegal voting, though there were few cases of voter fraud prosecuted before this summer. Critics have warned that the governor and his elections police unit could weaponize their new powers for political gain.
At an August news conference, DeSantis announced the office’s first arrests — mostly Black men who had recently voted. If convicted, they would face up to five years in jail and a $5,000 fine. All of those arrested had been previously convicted of murder or a felony sex offense. Florida voters in 2018 approved an amendment that allows former felons to register to vote unless they were convicted of those crimes.
Many of the 20 who were arrested in the Aug. 18 dragnet said that they thought they were eligible to vote and that they were encouraged to register by local officials. Their registrations were approved by the state Division of Elections, and they were issued voter identification numbers and cards by county elections supervisors.
“The state approved his voter’s registration and issued him a voter identification card,” Fort Lauderdale attorney Michael Gottlieb wrote in a motion this month to dismiss a different case connected to the voter-fraud charges. “He voted under the authority granted him by the government, and now that same body is seeking to incarcerate him for the very act they approved and encouraged him to take.”
Body-camera videos released this week from police officers who made some of the arrests — which took place in five counties over just a few hours on the morning of DeSantis’s August news conference — show confusion and concern among those arrested, as well as among some of the officers.
Gottlieb, who worked on Woods’s case and is also representing another man arrested the same day, said while the state may appeal the ruling by Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Milton Hirsch, the dismissal is a good sign.
“I’m certainly going to use this as wind in my sails,” Gottlieb said.
DeSantis press secretary Bryan Griffin said the state will continue to pursue cases with its elections integrity office.
“The state will continue to enforce the law and ensure that murderers and rapists who are not permitted to vote do not unlawfully do so,” he said. “Florida will not be a state in which elections are left vulnerable or cheaters unaccountable.”
Neil Volz, deputy director of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, cheered the dismissal of the case against Wood.
“This strengthens our resolve to continue to place people over politics and honor the commitment we made to the 1.4 million people impacted by Amendment 4, who should be enjoying the opportunity to fully participate in our democracy,” Volz said in a statement.
Larry Davis, an attorney for Woods, said his client was “very happy and relieved” the charges were dismissed.
Robert Lee Wood was arrested on Aug. 18 and charged with two counts of voter fraud because he had been convicted of a crime in 1990 and did not have his rights restored before he voted. On Friday, a Miami judge dismissed the case, ruling that the statewide prosecutor didn’t have jurisdiction.
The governor has said he will appeal.
In recent months, DeSantis (R) has vowed to carefully scrutinize who can vote. Earlier this year, Florida’s GOP-led legislature created an Office of Election Crimes and Security at the governor’s request.
DeSantis said the office would help prevent illegal voting, though there were few cases of voter fraud prosecuted before this summer. Critics have warned that the governor and his elections police unit could weaponize their new powers for political gain.
At an August news conference, DeSantis announced the office’s first arrests — mostly Black men who had recently voted. If convicted, they would face up to five years in jail and a $5,000 fine. All of those arrested had been previously convicted of murder or a felony sex offense. Florida voters in 2018 approved an amendment that allows former felons to register to vote unless they were convicted of those crimes.
Many of the 20 who were arrested in the Aug. 18 dragnet said that they thought they were eligible to vote and that they were encouraged to register by local officials. Their registrations were approved by the state Division of Elections, and they were issued voter identification numbers and cards by county elections supervisors.
“The state approved his voter’s registration and issued him a voter identification card,” Fort Lauderdale attorney Michael Gottlieb wrote in a motion this month to dismiss a different case connected to the voter-fraud charges. “He voted under the authority granted him by the government, and now that same body is seeking to incarcerate him for the very act they approved and encouraged him to take.”
Body-camera videos released this week from police officers who made some of the arrests — which took place in five counties over just a few hours on the morning of DeSantis’s August news conference — show confusion and concern among those arrested, as well as among some of the officers.
Gottlieb, who worked on Woods’s case and is also representing another man arrested the same day, said while the state may appeal the ruling by Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Milton Hirsch, the dismissal is a good sign.
“I’m certainly going to use this as wind in my sails,” Gottlieb said.
DeSantis press secretary Bryan Griffin said the state will continue to pursue cases with its elections integrity office.
“The state will continue to enforce the law and ensure that murderers and rapists who are not permitted to vote do not unlawfully do so,” he said. “Florida will not be a state in which elections are left vulnerable or cheaters unaccountable.”
Neil Volz, deputy director of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, cheered the dismissal of the case against Wood.
“This strengthens our resolve to continue to place people over politics and honor the commitment we made to the 1.4 million people impacted by Amendment 4, who should be enjoying the opportunity to fully participate in our democracy,” Volz said in a statement.
Larry Davis, an attorney for Woods, said his client was “very happy and relieved” the charges were dismissed.