Charlie Crist on New Florida Voting Law

Former Gov. Charlie Crist wrote an op-ed against the voter suppresion laws passed by the legislature and signed into law by Gov. Rick Scott.

Florida's lawmakers cite voter fraud concerns as the reason for the new restriction on third-party voter registration drives. While I have seen no evidence of rampant voter fraud, it is no doubt a serious matter and can serve to reduce confidence in the electoral process. Those who commit such a crime should be prosecuted and punished. However, imposing stiff penalties on those who are trying to promote participation in the electoral process in good faith will most assuredly reduce confidence in the electoral process. In a state with approximately 18 million residents and approximately 11.2 million registered voters, Florida should be doing all it can to promote more voter participation, not creating barriers to it.

The biggest proof Republican use that there is voting fraud in Florida is that Mickey Mouse was registered to vote. That has been proven to be false. The Republicans excuse for changing the voting laws was a cartoon character. That illustrates the stupidity of the voting fraud argument. Crist himself writes that he saw "little" voting fraud during his time as governor.