On the same day Orange County Supervisor of Elections, Bill Cowles began mailing out absentee ballots for municipal elections on April 3, three candidates have called for an investigation into campaign activities of Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and City Commissioner Sam Ings (District 6).
In a letter to Gov. Rick Scott, dated February 28, two candidates in the Orlando mayoral race, Ken Mulvaney and Mike Cantone, along with Lewanna Gelzer running in District 6, have demanded a “full criminal investigation” into the campaign activities of Dyer and Ings.
The candidates charge that several elections laws are being violated by two paid political operatives, Ms. Sandra Lewis and Mr. Ezzie Thomas, who have faxed thousands of absentee ballot requests to the Supervisor of Elections.
Specifically, the letter to Scott states:
“Over six hundred (600) absentee ballot requests have been obtained by several political operatives that are operating for the campaigns of Mayor Buddy Dyer and Commissioner Sam Ings. These absentee ballot requests have been collected and faxed by one or two individuals, neither one have been established as a ‘designee’ authorized to collect absentee ballot requests from relatives that are elections.”
According to Florida Statute, an elector or voter should make a request for an absentee ballot and where there is a designee, that individual can only request two ballots within one election. The candidates also allege that no affidavits have been presented that show either Lewis or Thomas as “designees” by any of the electors or voters.
Nearly 2,000 absentee ballot requests have been received by the Supervisor Elections that violate other Florida Election statues, the letter to Scott also states. These relate to absentee ballots and voting violations, false declaration to secure assistance in preparing a ballot, vote selling and fraud in connection with casting a vote, among other statues.
Mulvaney, Cantone and Gelzer accompany their letter to Scott with a sampling of what they charge are illegal activities.
“Officials at both the Orange County Supervisor of Elections and the Honorable Alanna Brenner, City Clerk for Orlando have been made aware of these violations and have not acted to either correct the situation nor to prevent the mailing of absentee ballots that have been clearly obtained by corrupt practices and unclean hands,” the letter adds.
The letter concludes by pointing out that the upcoming election is “clearly tainted” and requests a “formal investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement into the actions of paid operatives for Mayor Buddy Dyer and Commissioner Sam Ings.”
Eight years ago, absentee ballots in Orlando became a hot button issue when paid campaign operatives collected and mailed the requests into the Supervisor of Elections. Back then, the upshot was, the indictment of several politicians.
The candidates say, they are not looking to disenfranchise any group of voters, but are merely trying to eliminate this practice of harvesting absentee ballots and ensure the integrity of the electoral process.
Today, Mulvaney, Cantone and Gelzer will hold a news conference to let the voters of Orlando know what’s going on and that they have demanded a full criminal investigation into the matter.
