Attorney General James Uthmeier has announced the arrest of a petition gatherer who sought signatures for a pro-marijuana amendment.
Investigators say Alexandria Mary Beatrice Tatem filed a petition card purportedly signed this year by Amy Akins, a Florida voter the state said died on Jan. 10, 2024. Uthmeier’s Office said the petition card was submitted to the Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Office.
The state will charge Tatem with one count of perjury by false written declaration, a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison.
“We will not tolerate fraud, let alone fraud that undermines the integrity of Florida’s nation-leading election system or uses the names of deceased voters to change our state’s constitution,” Uthmeier said.
“This arrest shows our commitment to upholding the law and protecting the sanctity of Florida’s elections. My office will continue to lead the charge against any form of voter fraud in Florida.”
Uthmeier said the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s election police force led a joint investigation of the crime. That’s the same police force that announced several high-profile arrests of 19 felons who wrongfully registered to vote — most saying they believed that a constitutional amendment had restored their voting rights — and cast ballots in the 2020 Presidential Election.
The petition was for a ballot measure sponsored by Smart & Safe Florida, the same group behind a measure that earned 57% support last year but fell short of the 60% required for passage.
Smart & Safe Florida declined to comment on the arrest.
The new ballot proposal needs more than 880,000 valid petitions signed by Florida voters, coming from at least half of Florida’s congressional districts, in order to appear on the statewide ballot in 2026. Since filing a new measure in January, more than 661,000 valid signatures have already been recorded by the state.
But the remainder must be gathered in a different regulatory environment. And the arrest announced by Uthmeier signals the state will likely be scrutinizing the petition gathering process closely.
The arrest comes as supporters of ballot initiatives say new laws make it increasingly difficult to gather enough signatures to place constitutional amendments on Florida’s statewide ballot in a shortened time frame.
Gov. Ron DeSantis pushed for a crackdown on petition gathering after a recreational marijuana ballot measure on last year’s ballot came just 3 percentage points short of passage. He signed legislation earlier this year that requires online training and registration, restricts petition gathering to only Florida residents, and puts a limit of 25 submissions at a time unless individuals register as an official petition circulator.
Notably, Uthmeier last year chaired the Keep Florida Clean committee, the campaign opposed to the marijuana initiative. DeSantis earlier this year appointed Uthmeier, previously the Governor’s Chief of Staff, to the Attorney General post.
The fundraising for he Keep Florida Clean committee has come under fire following revelations it accepted millions from nonprofits who had been awarded funding from the Hope Florida Foundation. That money originated from a Medicaid settlement.
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