美国国家公共电台 NPR--Florida's effort to charge 20 people with voter fraud has hit some roadblocks

Florida's effort to charge 20 people with voter fraud has hit some roadblocks

Transcript¹

Back in August, Florida officials announced they were charging 20 people with alleged² voter fraud. It was the first big set of cases investigated by the state's new election crimes unit, which was created at the urging of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The statewide prosecutor³ recently secured one conviction through a plea deal. But at least three other cases so far have been dismissed on procedural grounds. And attorneys representing those who were charged say Florida's cases face a tough road — even if they make it to trial.

The state's effort has been a controversial one. Many of the individuals charged with voting illegally in 2020 say they thought they were eligible⁴ to vote, despite past felony convictions, because the state had given them a voter registration⁶ card.

What those charged have said

Twenty years ago, Romona Oliver was convicted for second-degree murder, said Mark Rankin, a criminal defense⁷ attorney representing her. When she got out of prison, Florida voters had approved a ballot⁸ measure, Amendment⁹ 4, that automatically restores voting rights to most people who had a prior felony conviction.

And Oliver, Rankin said, thought that included her.

"She was approached at a bus stop by people who were trying to register voters," he told NPR. "She told them that she was a felon⁵ and was told, 'That's not a problem. You can apply. And if you are eligible and your rights have been restored they will send you a voter registration card.' "

After filing out her registration form, Oliver's local election official sent her a voter registration card. So, when the 2020 election came up, she cast a ballot.

But what Oliver didn't know at this point, Rankin said, was that she actually was exempt¹⁰ from Amendment 4. The measure doesn't extend voting rights to anyone who has been convicted of murder or a felony sex offense¹¹.

And that's why earlier this year, law enforcement showed up at her door and arrested her.

"It was just a very stressful situation," Rankin said. "And it was confusing to her because she believed she was eligible to vote when she voted."

According to police body cam footage obtained by The Tampa Bay Times, many of the individuals arrested, including Oliver, were shocked to hear they were being charged with voter fraud. Most if not all had received a voter registration card from government officials ahead of the 2020 election.

"Almost co-conspirators"

Roger Weedon, who is representing two individuals charged for alleged voter fraud, says he thinks there is even a case to be made that the state entrapped¹² these voters. He says the state could have created a system where local election officials and formerly¹³ incarcerated¹⁴ people could see if they're eligible to vote.

"The government shouldn't be able to prosecute¹⁵ cases in which they are almost co-conspirators by sending the registration cards and allowing them to vote," Weedon said.

Weedon says he's working to get the cases against his two clients dismissed. So far, three cases out of the initial collection of charges have been thrown out. The state has appealed at least two of those dismissals.

One of the dismissed cases involved a man named Ronald Lee Miller¹⁶. His attorney, Robert Barrar, said that since his client only voted in one place, the statewide prosecutor was the wrong person to charge him. Barrar said a statewide prosecutor only has jurisdiction¹⁷ if crimes are committed in multiple judicial¹⁸ circuits.

"What that means is whoever the accused was would have either had to have been involved in a conspiracy¹⁹ to commit the crime with someone in another judicial [circuit] or committed acts leading to the crime in two judicial circuits," he said.

Larry Davis is a criminal defense attorney representing Robert Wood, who also had his case dismissed on these procedural grounds. Davis said that if a judge rules against his client in an appeal, he is going to take the case in front of a jury.

"We believe it will be very difficult for people to agree that Mr. Wood had any intent to break the law," Davis said.

Most defendants²⁰ in these cases have been advised by their attorneys not to give interviews before adjudication.

Their legal defense is almost entirely²¹ pro-bono. Many of the attorneys say they took these cases because the state is clearly in the wrong, and that it would be difficult for the state to prove these individuals intended to commit fraud.

But that depends on how hard defendants want to fight the charges.

Weedon said one of his clients, Peter Washington, is confident that he did nothing wrong and will prevail in court. But his other client, Michelle Stribling, has been struggling.

"For Ms. Stribling it's been very, very stressful for her," Weedon said. "Not knowing what lies in your future — she spent a lot of years in prison. And she's been the person who has been most impacted emotionally."

A plea deal with no punishment

This pressure is why at least one of these defendants — Oliver — recently took a plea deal. Her lawyer, Rankin, said the state gave her an extremely attractive plea offer she just couldn't turn down. He said they allowed her to plead "no contest," which means she did not admit that she did anything wrong. Prosecutors²² also dropped one of the charges.

"And she had zero punishment in her case," Rankin said. "She had no jail time, no fine, no community service, no cost of prosecution²³ or investigation²⁴ — which usually apply — no probation²⁵. She just completely walked away."

In a statement to NPR, the statewide prosecutor, Nick Cox, said "each case is unique" and that Oliver's particular case stems "from a negotiated plea bargain."

"The Office of Statewide Prosecution is pleased to secure the felony conviction on illegal voting," Cox said.

His office said because other cases are still pending²⁶ it cannot comment any further.

Rankin said he thinks a lot of these individuals who are charged, if their cases move forward, will get a similar offer. He said even if an attorney is confident they will prevail in court, a plea bargain like Oliver's is very attractive to someone who just wants to be done with their legal issues.

"It puts these defendants in the position where they just want to make it go away," Rankin said. "And then the state, as they did in Ms. Oliver's case, can say to the media, 'Oh we got a conviction for illegal voting.' "

The state might not have much of a choice. Because a lot of these cases are similar, attorneys say they might have to offer a similar deal to avoid disparities in sentencing.

Either way, groups that have been helping²⁷ fight these charges say they think this a drain on state resources.

Neil Volz, with the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition²⁸, said taxpayer²⁹ money and law enforcement could be better used elsewhere.

Volz says the system that tripped up these voters needs fixing, and he's working with some state lawmakers to create a database so people who aren't eligible because of a past conviction are not given voter registration cards anymore.

"This is a real sign for all of us to be careful when we begin to criminalize voting," he said. "We really need to focus on the voters. And in this case fixing the system so that we don't find ourselves in this kind of situation in the future."

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

3 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

4 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

5 felon   

n.重罪犯；adj.残忍的

参考例句：

• He's a convicted felon.他是个已定罪的重犯。
• Hitler's early "successes" were only the startling depredations of a resolute felon.希特勒的早期“胜利 ”，只不过是一个死心塌地的恶棍出人意料地抢掠得手而已。

6 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

7 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

8 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

9 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

10 exempt   

adj.免除的；v.使免除；n.免税者，被免除义务者

参考例句：

• These goods are exempt from customs duties.这些货物免征关税。
• He is exempt from punishment about this thing.关于此事对他已免于处分。

11 offense   

n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪

参考例句：

• I hope you will not take any offense at my words. 对我讲的话请别见怪。
• His words gave great offense to everybody present.他的发言冲犯了在场的所有人。

12 entrapped   

v.使陷入圈套，使入陷阱( entrap的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was entrapped into undertaking the work. 他受骗而担任那工作。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He felt he had been entrapped into marrying her. 他觉得和她结婚是上了当。 来自辞典例句

13 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

14 incarcerated   

钳闭的

参考例句：

• They were incarcerated for the duration of the war. 战争期间，他们被关在狱中。 来自辞典例句
• I don't want to worry them by being incarcerated. 我不想让他们知道我被拘禁的事情。 来自电影对白

15 prosecute   

vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官

参考例句：

• I am trying my best to prosecute my duties.我正在尽力履行我的职责。
• Is there enough evidence to prosecute?有没有起诉的足够证据？

16 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

17 jurisdiction   

n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权

参考例句：

• It doesn't lie within my jurisdiction to set you free.我无权将你释放。
• Changzhou is under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province.常州隶属江苏省。

18 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

19 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

20 defendants   

被告( defendant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The courts heard that the six defendants had been coerced into making a confession. 法官审判时发现6位被告人曾被迫承认罪行。
• As in courts, the defendants are represented by legal counsel. 与法院相同，被告有辩护律师作为代表。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

21 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

22 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

23 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

24 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

25 probation   

n.缓刑(期)，(以观后效的)察看；试用(期)

参考例句：

• The judge did not jail the young man,but put him on probation for a year.法官没有把那个年轻人关进监狱，而且将他缓刑察看一年。
• His salary was raised by 800 yuan after his probation.试用期满以后，他的工资增加了800元。

26 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

27 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

28 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

29 taxpayer   

n.纳税人

参考例句：

• The new scheme will run off with a lot of the taxpayer's money.这项新计划将用去纳税人许多钱。
• The taxpayer are unfavourably disposed towards the recent tax increase.纳税者对最近的增加税收十分反感。