Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced the arrest on Friday of Alexandria Mary Beatrice Tatem for Perjury by False Written Declaration following an investigation that Tatem submitted a petition in support of a constitutional amendment initiative titled Adult Personal Use of Marijuana that allegedly included a false signature of a dead Florida resident.
"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 in a release. "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."
Perjury by False Written Declaration is a third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in prison if convicted. A joint investigation into Tatem's arrest was led by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's Office of Executive Investigations and the Elections Crime Unit.
According to the release, Tatem, a registered Paid Petition Circulator (PPC), submitted the petition in support of the recreational use of marijuana, sponsored by Smart and Safe Florida, allegedly signed by Florida voter Amy Akins.
But Akins is dead, having passed away on January 10, 2024. Her signature was allegedly on the petition more than a year after she had passed away.
Under Florida law, PPCs must swear under penalty of perjury that any petition they submit was signed in their presence by the named voter, or Akins, in this case. The attorney general's office detailed that Tatem signed an affidavit on the petition affirming it was completed in her presence.
In addition, during a sworn interview by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) on July 1, Tatem allegedly confirmed that she signed the affidavit and submitted the petition, even after being shown by officials that the voter listed had passed away more than a year prior, according to the release.
Atkias has been a registered PPC since 2019, having collected and submitted petitions in the Tampa Bay and Sarasota regions. The alleged forgery was flagged after officials discovered the voter's signature succeeded her death date.
