Case is one of the 19 voter fraud prosecutions, and involves man who says he registered to vote in 2020 without knowing he was ineligible
Hirsch dismissed the case because he said statewide prosecutors had overstepped their authority in bringing charges against Wood.
Prosecutors argued that Wood committed a multi-jurisdictional criminal act. Even though he registered and voted in Miami, his registration was transmitted to the state capitol, Tallahassee, for review. The criminal act, the state argued, was therefore committed in two jurisdictions. In its argument, the statewide prosecutors argued they had authority to prosecute election crimes anywhere in Florida.
Hirsch disagreed, saying “the crime, if there was one, occurred exclusively in Miami.”
“Robert Lee Wood’s misconduct, if misconduct it was, consisted in registering to vote, and voting, in his county of residence. Yes, his voter application and his ballot were transported to another Florida jurisdiction. But they were not transported by him, nor by any putatively criminal co-perpetrator,” he wrote in his ruling.
In 2018, Florida voters passed a constitutional amendment that restored voting rights to people with felonies, except those convicted of murder and sexual offenses. Some of those charged have said they believed the amendment restored their voting rights. The state has yet to provide evidence showing that any of the defendants, all of whom have prior murder or sexual offenses, knew they were exempt from the amendment.
Body camera footage of some of the defendants being arrested in Hillsborough county obtained by the Guardian and the Tampa Bay Timesshowed their bewilderment as they were put in handcuffs over voter fraud charges.