(The Center Square) – Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody is encouraging county leaders to inform residents about how to report voter registration fraud.
Speaking at a Florida Tax Collectors Association Annual Conference, Moody highlighted how tax collector offices play an important role in detecting voter fraud.
Tax collector offices “are where Floridians go to interact face to face with government. In Florida, tax collectors are independent constitutional officers duly elected by registered voters,” she said. They “do more than collect taxes.”
At state tax collector offices, Floridians can receive vehicle tags, hunting licenses, driver’s licenses and submit voter registration forms.
“With the 2024 presidential election around the corner,” Moody’s office encouraged tax collectors to display information about reporting voter registration crimes to Florida’s Voter Fraud Hotline: 1-877-868-3737.
Despite Florida taking “great steps to ensure the integrity of our elections,” Moody encouraged tax collectors “to help us keep Florida elections secure by posting information about Florida’s Voter Fraud Hotline – so Floridians know how and where to report suspicious activity.”
In 2022, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law that created a new division within the Florida Department of State, the Office of Election Crimes and Security. Its staff is charged with “conducting preliminary investigations into any irregularities or fraud involving voter registration, voting, candidate or issue petition activities, or any other alleged violations of Florida’s Election Code,” it says.
Since its inception, OECS staff has reviewed and investigated over 3,000 complaints and allegations of election fraud and initiated over 1,300 independent investigations, it says. After preliminary investigations are conducted, all evidence of potential election crimes are referred to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Moody’s Office of Statewide Prosecution or the local state attorney in the jurisdiction where the alleged violation occurred.
Under DeSantis and the state legislature, election integrity was made “a top priority” and significant investments were made in technology, infrastructure and resources “to conduct the nation’s most efficient and secure elections,” the office says. “Under the Governor’s leadership, Florida has become a model for successful elections administration.” Secretary of State Cord Byrd and SOS staff are working “to protect the significant investments that have been made and use these resources to continue to lead the way in election integrity.”
Floridians are encouraged to call the Voter Fraud Hotline at: 1-877-868-3737 if they “have information regarding any crime, fraud, or irregularity affecting Florida’s election system or any violation of Florida’s Election Code.” They can also file a complaint online.
Moody’s call for election integrity efforts follows a previous collaboration with the association and tax assessors statewide to expand public awareness about crime-fighting tools and resources.
They include how to identify and report human trafficking; awareness about the dangers of opioid misuse and where to find help; accessing resources about new and emerging scams statewide; and how to anonymously report crimes through a statewide anonymous tip line.
Moody and the Florida Association of Crime Stoppers in October 2020 launched the first statewide number in the country enabling an anonymous crime reporting system. Previously, each of Florida’s 27 regional Crime Stoppers only used separate, local phone numbers for reporting.
Last fall, Moody expanded the crime fighting initiative with John Walsh, with America’s Most Wanted and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Through the anonymous tip line, anyone can report tips about crimes statewide using a cellular device by dialing **TIPS. When Floridians call **TIPS they will automatically be connected to the Crime Stoppers office in the region where the call is generated.
