Governor Attacked Political Opponents While Acting in Official Duty
American Bridge 21st Century has filed a formal complaint with the Florida Elections Commission against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for using his official authority to influence an election by attacking his own political opponents during a press conference, while appearing in his official capacity as governor of Florida.
The complaint alleges that DeSantis violated Florida Chapter 104 Section 31 during an August 30 press conference in Fort Pierce. The statute states that, “No officer or employee of the state, or of any county or municipality thereof, except as hereinafter exempted from provisions hereof, shall: (a) Use his or her official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with an election or a nomination of office or coercing or influencing another person’s vote or affecting the result thereof.”
During the event, the Governor attacked Charlie Crist, his opponent in the November election, and Crist’s running mate saying, “You see Crist with this running mate that he picked from down in Miami, who’s a teacher, union boss and sympathetic to Fidel Castro, which was unbelievable to see that tweet. Worked tooth and nail to lock kids out of school in 2020. They opposed everything we did in the state of Florida to give kids an opportunity and to put parents and families first.”
You can find the complaint against Governor DeSantis here.
“Ron DeSantis has proven time and again that he is a corrupt politician determined to use his office for political and personal gain,” said American Bridge spokesperson Drew Godinich. “It’s crystal clear that Ron DeSantis has broken the law here, and he should be held accountable.”
Per the Florida Elections Commission, “The respondent shall have 14 days after receipt of the complaint to file an initial response, and a determination of legal sufficiency of the complaint may not be made during that time period… If the complaint is determined to be legally sufficient, the respondent shall be notified of such finding by letter. Once a complaint is determined to be legally sufficient, an investigation of the complaint will be conducted by the Commission staff.”
Published: Sep 9, 2022