South Florida Sun-Sentinel Palm Beach (Sunday)
Miami-Dade mayor seeks probe after voters say they didn’t know their party registrations were changed
Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava is asking prosecutors to investigate claims of “voter fraud” after elderly residents in Little Havana said their party affiliations were changed without their knowledge.
A county spokeswoman wrote in an email late Friday that Levine Cava “sent an official request to the State Attorney to investigate recent reports of voter registration fraud to ensure the integrity of the elections process.”
Levine Cava, who made the request in an email to State Attorney Katherine Fernandez-Rundle, joined other Florida Democrats in calling for an investigation following complaints from residents of Haley Sofge Towers, a county-managed public housing complex in Little Havana. State Sen. Annette Taddeo and Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, both running for governor against Republican Ron DeSantis, also called for an investigation.
“Under the alleged guise of voter renewal efforts, canvassers entered the building and engaged with elderly residents, who claim they did not approve sudden changes to their party affiliation,” Levine Cava wrote.
In December, WPLG reported that an 84-year-old lifelong Democrat unknowingly signed paperwork to change her registration to Republican after Republican Party of Florida canvassing staff knocked on her door.
More elderly residents, all over the age of 65 years old, then came forward to say they were now registered as Republicans without their knowledge, according to Taddeo and WPLG, which published its most recent report on the issue Thursday.
In her memo to Fernandez-Rundle, Levine Cava said that since September, the Miami-Dade Department of Elections has “received several alerts alleging similar voter fraud.” “In every instance, Department Director Christina White and her staff immediately reported the case to your office,” wrote Levine Cava, who oversees the elections office. “After reporting the incident, the Department staff would contact the voter to help correct the record and offer any other assistance.” Levine Cava did not specify how many voters had complained. Neither the Department of Elections nor the State Attorney’s Office immediately responded to a request for comment Friday evening.
Fried wrote a letter Friday to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland asking that the Department of Justice investigate the reports of “election interference and voter disenfranchisement.”
“I am especially concerned about the civil rights implications of this reported disenfranchisement because the victims are elderly, low income, and many do not speak English,” she wrote.
Republican Party of Florida Executive Director Helen Aguirre Ferré said in a statement to the Miami Herald on Friday that the party follows “all applicable” laws and rules as it works to register new Republican voters. “The Republican Party of Florida is working to register new voters and conducts its voter registration operations in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations. Our program has been successful and that includes reviewing any report of concern with its program.”
In November, DeSantis announced that the Florida GOP surpassed the Democratic Party in registered voters for the first time in state history.