THE VILLAGES, Fla. — A fourth resident of a massive Florida retirement community has been arrested on a charge of voter fraud.
Charles Barnes was arrested Tuesday on fraud for casting more than one ballot. The arrest affidavit doesn’t detail the basis for the charge.
Barnes entered a not guilty plea on Thursday. His attorney, Victor Mead, didn’t immediately return an email inquiry to The Associated Press.
Barnes' arrest was the fourth for voter fraud in the past two months of residents of The Villages retirement community in a county that is a Republican stronghold in Florida. Of the three other residents, two were registered Republicans and the third had no party affiliation.
Florida Department of State voter records show Barnes was registered to vote but did not indicate any party affiliation. He registered to vote in 2019.
In December, it was reported that three other residents of The Villages, Joan Halstead, 72; Jay Ketcik, 63; and John Rider, 61, were each charged with casting more than one ballot in any election, a third-degree felony. They could face up to five years in prison if convicted.
Even with these alleged cases, there are very few actual cases of voter fraud across the country — research and reporting have shown it is not widespread despite some politicians' claims. "Voter impersonation is virtually nonexistent, and many instances of alleged fraud are, in fact, mistakes by voters or administrators," according to the Brennan Center for Justice.
Despite this, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in November proposed creating a new state-level office to investigate election crimes in Florida. The state has an "elections integrity" page where potential cases of fraud can be submitted.
There was no evidence that votes were compromised or altered in the 2020 presidential election despite claims by former President Donald Trump and his supporters, cybersecurity experts said.
10 Tampa Bay's Andrew Krietz contributed to this report.
