Florida authorities have made two arrests in connection with alleged voter fraud.
The suspects are being charged with violation of state election law stemming from the 2020 and 2022 elections, according to Florida’s Voice.
One defendant is facing two felony charges related to voting twice in federal elections.
Donna Brady is accused of voting in both New Jersey and Florida, according to WCJB-TV.
Agents with the FDLE arrested Donna Prentes Brady, 66, of Ocala, on two counts of casting more than one ballot in any election, a third-degree felony. Brady shown on left, La Rocca on right.
See the press release here: https://t.co/S0mUnGn5mK pic.twitter.com/laCpPsCbQe— FDLE (@fdlepio) March 15, 2023
Brady allegedly cast duplicate votes in both states during the 2020 primary and general election.
The 66-year-old woman was arrested on Monday, posting a $2,000 bond for her release from the Marion County Jail hours later, WCJB reported.
The other arrestee is being accused of voting while serving a felony sentence.
Prosecutors said that Toye Anna La Rocca, 63, voted in the 2022 election while serving a sentence for driving under the influence, according to Florida’s Voice.
The Fort Walton Beach woman allegedly voted in person in the 2022 primary, and by mail in the general election.
Most felons in Florida are eligible to have their voting rights automatically restored, but convicted criminals actively under a felony sentence are barred from voting.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has previously expressed his intent to aggressively prosecute cases of voter fraud.
A state Election Crime Unit has filed criminal charges against convicted felons barred from legally voting without undergoing a rights restoration process under his leadership.
DeSantis touted charges against 20 murder and sex crimes felons who allegedly voted illegally last year, pledging to enforce the state’s election laws.
“They are disqualified from voting because they’ve been convicted of either murder or sexual assault, and they do not have the right to vote,” the governor said of the arrestees.
“They did not get their rights restored and yet they went ahead and voted anyways,” he said. “That is against the law, and now they’re going to pay the price for it.”
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“We’re going to continue to make sure that our laws are rigorously enforced.”
Some defendants charged with election crimes have been ultimately acquitted, with juries believing their claims that they were unaware they were still ineligible to vote after Florida revised its voter eligibility laws, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
