Erik Dellenback, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ faith and communities initiative liaison (left) and Jason Weida, Florida Agency for Health Care Administration secretary (right). Photos via the faith and communities initiative and AHCA websites.
A West Palm Beach attorney lodged a second election fraud complaint accusing a Gov. Ron DeSantis appointee of using his authority to interfere with the vote on the proposed state constitutional amendment that would expand abortion access.
Adam Richardson filed the complaint Wednesday with the Florida Department of State. He attorney alleges Erik Dellenback, who leads DeSantis’ faith and communities initiative, violated Florida law when he said he represented the government at an event hosted by the campaign to defeat Amendment 4.
The complaint cites Florida Phoenix’s reporting on the Monday night event at a church in Tallahassee, during which Dellenback thanked people for showing up to the Vote No on 4 and Florida Family Voice event on behalf of the governor.
Richardson filed another election fraud complaint on Sunday against one of Florida’s top health officials. His complaint against Jason Weida, the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration’s secretary, relied on the same law barring state employees from using their posts to interfere with an election. The complaint against Weida references AHCA’s webpage claiming that the abortion amendment “threatens women’s safety.”
The Department of State can carry out preliminary investigations into election fraud complaints, but a spokesperson did not immediately say whether there are plans to look into these.
Richardson’s previous accusation of election interference with Amendment 4 against DeSantis, Weida, and Attorney General Ashley Moody was unsuccessful. The Florida Supreme Court justices ruled that Richardson, as a citizen, didn’t have the power to bring criminal charges against the Florida leaders.
Richardson provided the complaints to Florida Phoenix but did not respond to a request for comment. AHCA and a spokesperson for the governor did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The proposed amendment says that “no law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider.”