Governor Ron DeSantis has announced a plan to create a new police agency that will work to monitor elections within the state of Florida. The agency is the first of its kind in the U.S.
The agency, which would be known as the Office of Election Crimes and Security, would work with the Department of State, answering directly to the governor.
For funding the agency, DeSantis is asking for $6 million to be allocated for a staff of 52 people to “investigate, detect, apprehend, and arrest anyone for an alleged violation” of laws in place to protect elections.
Officers who work for the agency would be stationed all over the state in field offices, acting on tips from “government officials or any other person.”
Florida legislators opened their annual 60-day session last week, where he made the proposal for his plan.
During his State of the State address, DeSantis shared why he feels there is a need for the Office of Election Crimes and Security.
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“To ensure that elections are conducted in accordance with the rule of law, I propose an election integrity unit whose sole focus will be the enforcement of Florida’s election laws,” DeSantis said. “This will facilitate the faithful enforcement of election laws and will provide Floridians with the confidence that their vote will matter.”
Republican House Speaker Chris Sprowls said the governor was worried current law enforcement agencies don’t have the ability or expertise to find those committing election crimes.
Texas has a similar unit to DeSantis’ agency. In October of 2021, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced the “2021 Texas Election Integrity Unit.”
However, it consists of fewer than 10 employees and can do much less than the Florida agency. The Texas election unit also operates outside the governor’s authority.
In 2020, DeSantis called the election in Florida “the gold standard” for elections following problems in the past.
The proposed legislation has no sponsors at the moment.
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