Florida Election Fraud Shes at It Again
3 Residents of The Villages in Florida Are Accused of Voting Fraud
All were residents of the famed, sprawling retirement community northwest of Orlando. Two were Republicans, and 1 had no amalgamation.
3 residents of a sprawling Florida retirement community were arrested over the last 2 weeks on charges of voting more than than one time in the 2020 general election, co-ordinate to the authorities.
The residents, Jay Ketcik, 63, Joan Halstead, 72, and John Rider, 61, lived in The Villages, a planned community northwest of Orlando where former President Donald J. Trump held a campaign rally shortly before the 2020 ballot.
The three were each charged with casting more than ane ballot in an election, co-ordinate to arrest records from the function of the land attorney in the Fifth Judicial Circuit in Florida.
Each charge is a tertiary-degree felony and punishable by up to 5 years in prison, said Bill Gladson, the country attorney for the Fifth Judicial Circuit in Ocala, Fla. Citing rules of professional conduct, Mr. Gladson said on Wednesday that he could not comment on pending cases. Ms. Halstead declined to comment on Wednesday. Mr. Rider and a lawyer for Mr. Ketcik did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Court records did not say for whom the three voted in the 2020 full general ballot or in what other elections they voted out of state. Voting records in the Florida Department of State list Mr. Ketcik and Ms. Halstead every bit registered Republicans. Mr. Rider has no party amalgamation on record.
Well-nigh a 45-infinitesimal drive northwest from Orlando, the customs was built in the 1960s as a collection of tracts and grew in popularity in the 1980s and 1990s with retirees from Northern states as its organizers added amenities such every bit motion-picture show theaters, shopping and other leisure activities. With more than 130,000 residents, the community of adults 55 and older, which stretches into 3 counties, has become 1 of Florida's fastest-growing metro areas.
The disputed votes had no effect on the 2020 election. Mr. Trump won Florida with virtually 51.2 per centum and by an even far greater margin in The Villages, although Joe Biden had energetic supporters there every bit well. After residents who supported Mr. Trump held a golf cart rally amid counterprotesters, he tweeted a video of the issue, writing, "Thanks to the great people of The Villages." So came his rally in Oct.
Following his defeat in the 2020 ballot, Mr. Trump made baseless claims of rampant voter fraud, which failed to gain any traction in courts across seven states. Merely the former president and his allies have connected to echo the false allegations, and Republican legislators have used the claims to justify new restrictions on voting.
Fifty-fifty then, election officials in dozens of states representing both political parties have said that at that place was no evidence that fraud or other irregularities played a role deciding the presidential race. In full general, voter fraud is extremely rare in the United States, and cases that exercise occur are often isolated and unlikely to affect an election.
Mr. Ketcik and Ms. Halstead turned themselves in to the Sumter County Sheriff's Function Detention Center on Nov. 29 and December. 8, co-ordinate to the sheriff'due south role. Mr. Rider was arrested by Brevard Canton deputies at a cruise ship terminal at Port Canaveral on Dec. iii, according to prosecutors.
It was not clear whether the three residents knew each other. Each was booked into a detention center or jail and released the same mean solar day of their abort, records show.
A probable crusade affirmation said that, in add-on to casting more than than 1 vote in Florida in October 2020, Ms. Halstead and Mr. Rider likewise cast 2nd ballots in New York through an absentee ballot. Mr. Ketcik was also accused of voting through mail service in Florida and casting a second, absentee election in Michigan.
The investigation into allegations of voter fraud by Mr. Ketcik, Ms. Halstead and Mr. Rider was initiated past the office of the Sumter County supervisor of elections, Bill Keen, according to abort records. His office did non immediately respond to an inquiry for comment about the charges.
Even though voter fraud is extremely rare, Republican leaders in several states, including Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, accept cited isolated cases to pursue tougher rules around voting in the wake of the 2020 ballot. On Wed, Christina Pushaw, a spokeswoman for Mr. DeSantis, said, "Multiple voting is unlawful."
She added, "It isn't a crime to exist registered to vote in more one state, as long as you only vote in ane."
Ms. Pushaw said that in 2019, the state joined the Electronic Registration Information Center, a nonprofit group that helps states improve the accurateness of voter rolls. By joining the system, she said, state officials could crosscheck voter registration information to detect duplicate registrations and outdated records.
"Though the system is not perfect, it does help ensure election integrity and deter potential fraud," she said.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/15/us/the-villages-voter-fraud-florida.html
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