As sham candidate scandal shakes Florida politics, GOP ignores real election fraud, Democrats say
As Florida Republicans move to overhaul voting laws, a political scandal is rocking the state Capitol with a GOP operative and former lawmaker facing felony campaign finance charges stemming from an alleged scheme to sway a South Florida election.
Democrats stepped up calls for action on Friday, saying Florida’s Republican leaders are trying to suppress voting while doing nothing to fix a broken campaign finance system and address phony candidates and dirty political tricks happening in their own backyard.
“The Florida Legislature has created a system that is seriously flawed, a system that encourages a culture of cheating, a system that hides the true actors and their involvement,” said Manny Diaz, chairman of the Florida Democratic Party.
The arrest of Frank Artiles, a former state senator, has thrust the campaign finance issue into the forefront at the same time Republicans are pushing to make changes to mail voting in response to unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud by former President Donald Trump.
Republicans are pushing legislation that would ban mail ballot drop boxes, require voters to file mail ballot requests more frequently and bar county election offices from accepting money from nonprofit organizations to conduct “get-out-the-vote” campaigns. Both Democrats and Republicans agree Florida’s 2020 presidential election went smoothly.
Meanwhile, Artiles is accused of paying nearly $45,000 to a sham candidate who siphoned votes away from incumbent Democratic state Sen. José Javier Rodríguez of Miami in November. Artiles surrendered to authorities on Thursday and was released after posting $5,000 bond.
Rodríguez lost the three-person District 37 election by only 32 votes to Republican state Sen. Ileana Garcia, a founder of Latinas for Trump. Prosecutors say they found no evidence that suggests Garcia played a role in the scheme.
Democrats, though, say the election is tainted and are calling for Garcia to resign and a new election to be held.
In May, Artiles recruited Alex Rodriguez, who has the same last name as the incumbent, to run as a phony third-party candidate with the goal of confusing voters, prosecutors allege. Alex Rodriguez, who also faces charges, did no real campaigning but managed to get 6,382 votes.
Artiles would hand over cash from $3,000 to $5,000 to Alex Rodriguez taken from his home safe in violation of campaign finance laws, the arrest warrant alleges.
Florida Senate Democratic Leader Gary Farmer said the arrest raises questions as to the origin of Artiles’ money and whether Artiles acted alone. He said a wider investigation is needed.
“Now, we have evidence of actual fraud, real fraud, fraud that is proven in the form of the evidence and the facts contained in this arrest warrant,” Farmer said. “What are our Republican colleagues going to do now, faced with proof of fraud that clearly impacted the outcome of an election decided by 32 votes?”
Reporting by the Orlando Sentinel and Politico raised questions about no-party candidates in two other tossup Senate races — the District 9 Senate seat won by Jason Brodeur in Central Florida and the Senate 39 race won by Ana Maria Rodriguez in Miami-Dade County.
A mysterious donor channeled more than $500,000 through political committees to blast out mailers supporting no-party candidates in those races and the one that Garcia won, an apparent attempt to hurt the Democratic candidates.
For instance, the Central Florida mailer made progressive claims and featured a stock image of a Black woman even though the no-party candidate was white.
Artiles bragged about his involvement in unseating Rodríguez at Brodeur’s election night party at an Irish Pub in Lake Mary near Orlando, the Miami Herald reported.
Florida Senate President Wilton Simpson, who has denied involvement in the efforts, didn’t see a need for immediate action when pressed by reporters in Tallahassee on Thursday.
“You have to allow law enforcement to do what they do,” he said. “I think we don’t have all the facts.”
Democrats have filed legislation that would prohibit last-minute party switching by candidates, but it hasn’t gotten a hearing.
Meanwhile, the proposed changes to mail voting are advancing, an effort championed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
“We want, obviously, everyone to vote, but we don’t want anyone to cheat,” DeSantis said in February when he unveiled his election overhaul plan in West Palm Beach.
Skyler Swisher can be reached at sswisher@sunsentinel.com, 561-243-6634 or @SkylerSwisher
