Miami, FL – Florida Democratic Party Chair Manny Diaz released the following statement after reports that Seminole County Republican Chair Ben Paris, candidate Jestine Iannatti, and a consultant were all arrested and charged with multiple counts of election fraud relating to the 2020 election in Senate District 9.
“Today’s indictments of Republican operatives in Seminole County for election fraud when viewed with the charges of election fraud in South Florida against former Republican lawmaker Frank Artiles, the Republican-backed vote-switching scheme in Miami-Dade, and the charges of voter fraud in the Villages, paint a dark picture. Florida Republicans, from Gov. Ron DeSantis to Senate President Wilton Simpson, love to talk about election integrity but remain silent in the face of a pattern of election fraud by members of their own party throughout Florida. DeSantis and Simpson should explain why their party seems to be behind virtually every case of election fraud in the 2020 election. I am grateful for the hard work of law enforcement agencies that have somehow been able to uncover these schemes without the assistance of DeSantis’ expensive and unnecessary election police. Voters decide elections, not politicians. Florida Republicans should be held accountable.”
The following statement should be attributed to Seminole County Democratic Party Chair Lynn Moira Dictor:
“This was a long time coming. Democrats should feel a sense of vindication today for what has been going on for decades in Seminole County. The GOP in this county is the party of corruption. Now it’s all coming out, and the party of corruption has been exposed. They stole the Florida Senate race in 2020 from Patricia Sigman. She should be in Tallahassee right now.”
