Photo: Alamy
Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., announced on Wednesday that he had appointed Peter Antonacci as the director of the Office of Election Crimes and Security in the state of Florida.
The announcement comes on the heels of the Sunshine State’s move to pass SB 524, which DeSantis signed into law in April. The bill created an office for election crime investigation and established integral security measures, like requiring voter I.D. and increasing penalties for violating election law.
Gov. DeSantis stated, “Peter Antonacci has dedicated his career to serving the state of Florida. I am confident he will lead the Office of Election Crimes and Security with integrity and ensure that Florida’s elections are the most secure in the nation.”
According to a news release from the office of the 46th governor of Florida, Antonacci has a long and storied career in public service, and has previously served as a deputy attorney general, a Broward County supervisor of elections, and a deputy attorney general.
As the director of the newly minted Office of Election Crimes and Security, Antonacci will be tasked with investigating election crimes in the state of Florida and ensuring that existing election security measures are upheld.
Further, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody applauded DeSantis’s appointment of Antonacci. “Free and fair elections are vital to our democracy, and I applaud Governor DeSantis for selecting such a respected, experienced attorney to lead this important mission and provide assurance to voters that anyone who commits elections fraud will face justice,” she stated.
Gov. DeSantis has been making moves toward securing election integrity in Florida for several months. In June, he pledged $14 million toward strengthening election security as a part of his broader Freedom First Budget. Gov. DeSantis stated on Twitter that the investment was “proof that in Florida, we take election integrity seriously.”
