RICK SCOTT
Governor

KEN DETZNER
Secretary of State

November 9, 2018
Honorable Christopher P. Canova
U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida
111 North Adams Street
4th Floor U.S. Courthouse
Tallahassee, FL 32301
Honorable Maria Chapa Lopez
U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida
400 North Tampa Street
Suite 3200
Tampa, FL 33602
Honorable Ariana Fajardo Orshan
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida
99 N.E. 4th Street
Miami, Fl. 33132
Re:

Possible Violations of Florida and Federal Elections Laws

Dear U.S. Attorneys for the Northern, Middle, and Southern Districts of Florida,
Certain irregularities have come to our attention as it relates to the vote-by-mail voting process.
Exhibit A includes a form intended to serve as an affidavit to cure defects in vote-by-mail
ballots. Among other things, consistent with § 101.68(4)(c) of the Florida Statutes, this form
informs voters that they must return the form “no later than 5 p.m. on the day before the
election,” which was Monday, November 5, 2018, to cure any defects.
Supervisors in at least four counties have received altered forms wrongly directing the voter to
return the form by “5 p.m. on Thursday, November 08, 2018”1 – well after the date to cure a

November 8, 2018 at 5 p.m. was the statutory deadline by which “[a] person casting a
provisional ballot [had] the right to present written evidence supporting his or her eligibility to
vote to the supervisor of elections.” § 101.048(1), Fla. Stat. Co-mingling the standards for
1

Office of the General Counsel
R.A. Gray Building • 500 South Bronough Street, Suite 100 • Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0250
850.245.6536 • 850.245.6127 (Fax) DOS.MyFlorida.com

 vote-by-mail ballot. Exhibit B includes the altered forms along with email chains from affected
voters or supervisors.
Making or using an altered form is a criminal offense under Florida law. See § 817.155, Fla.
Stat. And, as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida reiterated in his October 25,
2018 letter to Secretary Detzner, “[p]reventing or impeding qualified voters from participating in
an election where a federal candidate’s name is on the ballot through such tactics as
disseminating false information as to the date, timing, or location of federal voting activity”
violates federal law. Exhibit C at 2-3 (citing 18 U.S.C. §§ 241, 242) (emphasis added).
More fundamentally, altering a form in a manner that provides the incorrect date for a voter to
cure a defect (or an incorrect method as it relates to provisional ballots) imposes a burden on the
voter significant enough to frustrate the voter’s ability to vote.
We respectfully ask that you take all necessary steps to investigate and remedy such abuse.
Please contact us should you need any additional information.
Sincerely,

Bradley McVay
Interim General Counsel

cc: Richard L. Swearingen, Commissioner, FDLE
Office of Statewide Prosecution

counting a vote-by-mail ballot and a provisional ballot would also cause great voter confusion as
the standards are different. See, e.g., id. § 101.048(2)-(6).