Affirmation of U.S. citizenship to vote in Florida elections clears first hurdle towards appearing on 2020 ballot

Organizers of an initiative to codify the prerequisite of U.S. citizenship to vote in Florida state elections have cleared a major hurdle towards the proposal appearing on the 2020 ballot.  

Florida Citizen Voters is the sponsor of the initiative petition. The purpose of the proposed Constitutional Amendment is to clarify the language of Article VI Section 2 of the Florida Constitution to reaffirm citizenship is a prerequisite to being permitted to vote in Florida elections.

Certification of more than 76,620 valid petitions collected in at least 25% of the state’s congressional districts was the first threshold cleared by the sponsor.

According to publicly available documents from the Florida Secretary of State,  as of June 13, 2019 Florida Supervisors of Election have certified a total of 85,695 valid petition signatures to the Division of Elections for the initiative petition.

 “This number represents more than 10% of the total number of valid signatures needed from electors statewide and in at least one-fourth of the congressional districts in order to have the initiative placed on the 2020 general election ballot.”

Achievement of this milestone triggers review of the initiative by the Florida Estimating Impact Conference created pursuant to Chapter 100 section 371 Florida Statutes. The FEIC reviews, analyzes, estimates and prepares financial impact statement associated with proposed constitutional amendment to be placed on the ballot by citizen’s initiative petition.

With passage of HB 5 during the 2019 Legislative Session the FEIC will also consider the estimated economic impact on state and local economies plus the overall impact to the state budget.

The Florida Channel broadcast the first public workshop of the FIEC review on August 1, 2019.  

From the Inbox: Did Dallas County's $1.1 Billion Bond Really Pass?

July 12, 2019 Austin, Texas - The largest community college district bond election ever attempted in Texas history, and the fourth largest bond overall, is being contested in a Dallas court.   Analysis of the official results by election integrity advocacy groups show numerous tabulation discrepancies that are enough to completely discredit the officially reported results.

Experts are sorting through a myriad of inconsistent election reports, computerized audit logs, conflicting tabulation numbers and sordid accounts of an environment rife with lawlessness, according to court documents.

The over 4,600 page election petition details that eyewitnesses, official Dallas County central counting station watchers, directly observed tabulation errors, illegalities and potential fraud.  

The bond election was reported to have passed with 71.46% in favor. Yet, election contest court documents cite, "While the margin of victory appears large, when electronic vote tabulation manipulations, mistakes, errors or fraud occurs, the vote spread knows no bounds."

The 18-page election contest , filed in Dallas County District Court in June, asserts that the enormity of electronic vote tabulation errors and illegalities makes it impossible to determine the bond election’s true outcome.  As such, a Dallas court is being asked to evaluate the evidence and declare the election void and order a new one. 

Analysts have begun unraveling what seems to be a $1.1 Billion-dollar election gone wrong. The detailed election contest contains over 4,000 pages of exhibits and evidence.

"The reported results for early voting and election day don't add up - the math is way off,” said Dr. Laura Pressley, Ph.D., and founder of True Texas Elections, LLC. “Because of the electronic vote tabulation discrepancies and reported illegalities, the official results of the $1Billion Dallas bond election are in question."

The Dallas Court is being asked to evaluate eyewitness reports and computerized tabulation irregularities and illegalities and declare the election void:

• Early voting flash memory cards without security seals were left unattended without security personnel (a violation of the Texas Election Code and the Texas Secretary of State Advisory 2018-34).

• Presiding judge or alternative judge were absent during the electronic download of early voting data (a violation of Texas’ Election Code Section 127.005).

• Official watchers at Dallas County central counting station, report compelling evidence that a parallel central counting station may have been set up in another part of the building, where significant election tabulation events were potentially being conducted out of the view of official central counting station watchers (a violation of Texas Election Code 33.056).

• Widespread use of wireless networks and computers, with wireless signals being documented when votes were downloaded and tabulated (in violation of Texas Election Code 129.054). Official watcher observed unlabeled grey ethernet cables running to the equipment, and a blue ethernet cable running between a wall drop and one of the tabulation system boxes on a rack. When asked why? Election officials replied, “I can’t really tell you. That’s why we rely on a contractor.”

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(image credit: True Texas Elections)