Florida man accused of forging petitions for marijuana ballot initiative

Man accused of forging petitions for marijuana initiative

A Seminole County man has been arrested on accusations that he submitted fraudulent petitions in an effort to put recreational marijuana on Florida?s 2026 ballot, the state attorney general?s office said.

WINTER SPRINGS, Fla. - A Seminole County man has been arrested on accusations that he submitted fraudulent petitions in an effort to put recreational marijuana on Florida’s 2026 ballot, the state attorney general’s office said.

What we know:

Alexander Francis, a 33-year-old from Winter Springs, was arrested Thursday on accusations that he submitted fraudulent petitions tied to an effort to place recreational marijuana on Florida’s 2026 ballot. 

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Investigators said Francis, a registered paid petition circulator, turned in hundreds of fraudulent petitions to election offices across the state. Many of the alleged victims were seniors, with at least 35 reporting their personal information had been stolen.

Francis was arrested by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) on Thursday in Flagler County, charged with 38 counts of criminal use of personal identification information.

What we don't know:

Officials have not released details on exactly how Francis obtained the personal information used in the petitions or how long the alleged fraud took place. It is also unclear whether others may have been involved or whether the scheme influenced the number of verified petitions submitted for the marijuana ballot initiative.

The backstory:

The petitions were submitted shortly before a new law took effect on July 1. That law requires petition circulators to register with the Office of the Secretary of State, complete training and comply with new anti-fraud safeguards. Election supervisors across the state have long warned of fraudulent petitions. 

In 2022, during a gambling expansion push, thousands of petitions were flagged for problems and ultimately discarded.

What they're saying:

Lake County Supervisor of Elections Alan Hays said his office rejected 60% of the 17,000 petitions submitted during the 2022 gambling initiative. 

"Every single petition that is presented to us, we check the name on it, the address, the date of birth, and we check the date that petition was signed, and we check the signature and see if it matches what we have on file for that voter," Hays said.

"We have no record of that person even being in our database and the addresses are incorrect. There’s just all kinds of things that appear to be false information being presented to us," he added.

What's next:

This case is being prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution. 

Francis is facing 30 years with a 10-year mandatory minimum for the first-degree felony charge, and a combined 585 years for all charges, according to the FDLE. He has been booked at the Seminole County Jail, with his bond set at $210,000.

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