Florida officials have issued fines to at least 26 organizations involved in voter registration, including the state Democratic and Republican parties. The fines were issued by the state's election crimes and security agency, which was created by Republican governor and GOP presidential candidate Ron DeSantis to investigate voter fraud. The Hispanic Federation non-profit was fined $7,500 after the agency found that it submitted 15 voter registration forms to Polk County, where none of the people lived. - The mistakes were made by the voters themselves, many of whom lived on the border of Polk County.
- The group registered more than 16,500 voters last year.
- The Hispanic Federation agreed to pay the fine but argued that the cost was excessive.
- Hard Knocks Strategies, a for-profit political canvassing organization, has been fined $47,600 since last year for turning in voter registration forms late and in the wrong county.
- The group issued a statement questioning if organizations trying to register voters in Republican-leaning areas are being targeted "as aggressively and frequently" as those that work with underrepresented communities.
DeSantis and the GOP-controlled Florida state legislature established the Office of Election Crime and Security last year. - The state allocated nearly $6M to the agency.
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