Three voters from a Republican-leaning retirement home in Florida have been arrested on suspicion of voting more than once.
The charges come just weeks after Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis committed to establishing a law enforcement agency to investigate election offenses, despite the Sunshine State having minimal evidence of political misconduct.
Three voters, all of whom live in The Villages, have been arrested in the last two weeks.
Following charges filed by the Sumter County Supervisor of Elections, they were each accused of casting more than one ballot in the 2020 election.
Jay Ketcik, 63, was arrested last week on a third-degree criminal fraud allegation.
He submitted a not guilty plea and expects to “attack the sufficiency of the charge,” according to court documents.
An arrest report did not specify why he was charged, but according to court filings, he was suspected of voting by mail in Florida in October 2020 while also casting an absentee ballot in Michigan.
According to an arrest record, Joan Halstead, 71, was detained two weeks ago for voting in person in Florida and by an absentee vote in New York during the 2020 election. She has submitted a not guilty plea and stated in court filings that she plans to challenge the charge’s “sufficiency.”
John Rider, 61, was arrested on a similar accusation at the beginning of the month.
The reason for his arrest was not included in the arrest record. Rider, who was arrested in Brevard County, did not yet have an online docket in Sumter County, thus it was unknown whether he had an attorney. An arrest report did not provide a phone number.
According to online records, Ketcik and Halstead are both registered Republicans, while Rider is unaffiliated.
The arrests came just weeks after DeSantis suggested tougher limitations on vote drop boxes, the creation of an electoral police team, and reforms to toughen punishments for ballot harvesting.
During his introduction, DeSantis echoed many of the talking points about voting issues that have gained currency in the Republican Party in the aftermath of former President Donald Trump’s baseless assertions that his reelection was stolen from him. Ron DeSantis is up for reelection next year and is considering a presidential candidacy in 2024.
The governor had earlier described the 2020 election in Florida as seamless, and there was universal agreement among election authorities and analysts that there was no fraud that could have influenced the outcome of the last presidential election.
