In Florida elections, the cheaters often win | Commentary

Once again, a judge has ruled that Gov. Ron DeSantis and GOP legislators violated the Florida Constitution.

This time, a judicial appointee of Rick Scott ruled what everyone already knew — that they illegally gerrymandered congressional districts to get a Black Democrat out of office and put a White Republican in

In other words, they cheated.

Just like the previous governor and Legislature did 10 years ago with their last redistricting scheme when a judge concluded they’d conspired to make “a mockery of the Legislature’s proclaimed open and transparent process.”

Maybe we could all celebrate justice prevailing and the cheaters being exposed — except for one key fact: The cheaters also won.

While the districts will now be redrawn, just like they were 10 years ago, the unconstitutional maps were already used to elect politicians who are now in office.

In other words: The poisonous tree they planted has already sown its toxic fruit, allowing some politicians who might never have otherwise been elected to get into seats of power.

We’ve also seen cheaters’ tactics in two of the state’s “ghost candidates” scandals in Seminole County and Miami-Dade. The county GOP chairman was convicted in Seminole. The ghost candidate himself pleaded guilty in Miami. Others still face charges.

Yet the politicians meant to benefit from the schemes — Sens. Jason Brodeur and Ileana Garcia — remain in office.

So you can see why the cheaters keep cheating in this state. Because even when they are exposed, their schemes still work … at least for a while.

This behavior will never stop until politicians and operatives who break the rules and violate the constitution are punished the same way petty thieves are. And until voters stop electing and reelecting the offenders and beneficiaries of the schemes.

In the latest ruling, the judge spanked DeSantis and GOP legislators like corporal punishment was going out of style.

Judge rules DeSantis congressional map violates Florida Constitution

He ruled that the politicians had drawn maps meant to make it harder for a Black Democrat to get elected in violation of the Florida Constitution that every one of these politicians took an oath to uphold.

The sad thing is that the original maps GOP legislators produced were actually pretty fair. I said so at the time. So did nonpartisan watchdogs.

But DeSantis didn’t want fair. So he vetoed the fair maps and ordered GOP lawmakers to approve districts that would make it harder for a Black Democrat to get elected.

Now, if Florida’s GOP legislators weren’t such pushovers and patsies, they would’ve said: No, Governor, we refuse to break the law and violate the Constitution on your behalf.

But there are globs of primordial ooze with stiffer spines. So after a bit of hemming and hawing, they did as DeSantis instructed.

It’s hard to count how many times courts have ruled that DeSantis has violated the constitution. The violations have been cited by judges appointed by Rick Scott, Donald Trump, even by DeSantis himself.

So let’s take a quick timeout to appreciate a wicked irony and hypocrisy — the constant rule-breaking of a governor who removes local elected officials from office because he claims they don’t follow the rules.

It would be refreshing if the people who endorse this behavior just admit they don’t care about the rule of law. They just want to win, rules be damned.

Sometimes, the cheaters cheat even when it might not be necessary. In Seminole County, for instance, Jason Brodeur won by a large enough margin that it looks like he probably didn’t need the help of those charged with crimes. (That’s gotta smart for the three people who are either convicted or facing charges while Brodeur is fat and happy in office.)

Jury finds Seminole GOP chair guilty in ‘ghost’ candidate case

Down in Miami-Dade, though, it’s clear cheating swung the election. In that case, schemers convinced a third-party candidate with the same last name as the Democrat to put his name on the ballot merely to confuse voters. And it worked. Despite doing no campaigning, the “ghost candidate” with the same last name as the Democrat fetched more than 6,000 votes — enough to let Republican Ileana Garcia eke out a win by just 32 votes.

Think about that. The ghost candidate there has already confessed to the crime, pleading guilty to the vote-siphoning scheme involving undisclosed payments. But Garcia, the Republican senator who benefitted from the criminal activity, is still in office. How is that justice?

Florida isn’t the only state that cheats during elections. Courts have recently struck down gerrymandering schemes in other states, like Alabama. And it sure isn’t just Republicans that cheat. Back when Democrats ran Florida, they gerrymandered as well.

But not in modern history has the cheating been so rampant, so proven and yet also gone so unpunished.

If I had my druthers, any lawmaker who breaks the law or violates the constitution would be treated the same way common criminals are.

Any election where illegal chicanery is proven would be invalidated.

And we’d stop letting politicians control the redistricting process — where they essentially choose their own voters — and instead follow the lead of a state like Arizona, which gives the process to a bipartisan commission where no member is allowed to run in any of the districts they draw.

But for now, the very least voters can do is stop rewarding the cheaters and their beneficiaries by keeping them in office — where they’re free to cheat again.

smaxwell@orlandosentinel.com