Credit: openmarket.org[/caption]
Allegations of voter fraud in Florida is a common occurrence during any presidential election. In each election since 2000, several issues have been reported in the state. Reports in previous years indicated that the problem was defective computers and missing votes. Now, the problems are starting way before the elections.
Strategic Allied Consulting, a firm hired by the Republican Party of Florida, has allegedly committed fraud. According to recent reports, numerous registration forms are under investigation. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) announced that it launched a criminal investigation regarding those forms issued in favor of the GOP.
Florida, known to be a “swing state,” can be essential for the November elections, as seen in 2000 when George W. Bush won the state by a mere 537 votes. Florida is also one of thirty-two states, not counting the District of Columbia, where early voting to some degree is permitted. Voting starts ten days before the official elections and ends on the 3rd day before Election Day. The deadline to be registered ends on Tuesday, October 16th.
The problems being examined arose when registration cards were discovered to seemingly be signed by the same person. Furthermore, addresses and birthdays were made up, and at least one form was registered to a dead person. Those forms were apparently traced back to Strategic Allied Consulting. The company issued a release on their homepage.
The Republican Party severed ties with Strategic Allied Consulting, which was also hired for Nevada, North Carolina, Colorado and Virginia, which are “swing states” as well.
The founder of Strategic Allied Consulting is Nathan Sproul, a former executive director of the Republican Party in Arizona. He operates several firms, which include the Lincoln Strategy Group, and has been engaged in voter registration in the past. As it turns out, those firms where subject to allegations of fraud as well. However, those allegations never led to criminal charges.
Swing states like Florida are essential to presidential elections and the candidates in the race focus on obtaining the electoral votes in these states to help them get to the 270 needed to win. Florida, with 29 out of the overall 538 electoral votes in the country, has the largest share of electoral votes among the key battleground states.