The St. Johns County Republican Party (SJCRP) has sounded the alarm, claiming that fraudulent endorsement cards are being circulated ahead of the August primary.
These cards, which appear to be near-exact replicas of the legitimate GOP endorsements, have been mailed in an apparent attempt to confuse voters and sway the election.
“It’s a very close knockoff, but it’s fraudulent,” said Denver Cook, Chairman of the St. Johns County GOP per WOKV. “When you talk about election interference and election fraud, I don’t know how it could be worse than this.”
The fake endorsement cards list 8 candidates that directly contradict those endorsed by the St. Johns County GOP. According to Cook, this is a deliberate and malicious attempt to mislead voters and disrupt the integrity of the election.
“This is our real voter guide, you can see on the back side of it, we explain why we did, we have the required disclaimers on the bottom,” Cook said.
The St. Johns GOP endorses grassroots conservatives who are willing to take out the RINOs in Congress.
The Chairman has received over a dozen calls from concerned citizens, all of whom were confused by the fake mailers.
“To do this, it’s angering, frustrating and it concerns me about behavior when you talk voter intimidations, voter fraud, the level of anger that’s been produced,” he said.
Cook stated that they would never have sent anything from Jacksonville, according to News4Jax.
“You can see that it was mailed from Jacksonville on Aug. 7 with a stamp and no return address,” Cook said.
“We wouldn’t have mailed it from Jacksonville but additionally these cards aren’t prepared to be mailed. There’s no way for us to put a stamp or an address on them. The other thing is we don’t have.”
For Cook, this act is dirty politics, he called it “outright fraud and criminal.”
“I would call this beyond dirty politics. Dirty politics you would see the hate mail that comes out on individuals or attack pieces that are fabricated, based on a sliver of truth and blown up to be this whole thing. This is so far beyond that. This is outright fraud and criminal.”
Cook expressed deep concern over the motives behind these fake voter guides, which he believes were not only costly but also strategically crafted to undermine the party’s efforts.
“The first one that comes to mind is to try and offset the work we’re doing for political gain for people they’re supporting,” Cook said.
“The second is greed. I think when you look at trying to get certain people in certain positions that will vote in a way you need them to, people want that.”
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) has been notified, and Cook is determined to see justice served. If those responsible for this fraud are identified, Cook vows that they will face serious legal consequences.
“First of all, I think the people need to be held accountable for this criminally and civilly. And we as a party and chairman are going to pursue that as far as we can. The state party is already engaged as well.”
Evan Power, Chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, also weighed in on the matter, issuing a strong statement of support for the St. Johns County GOP.
Statement via WOKV:
“The Republican Party of Florida and the St. Johns County Republican Party are the only organizations qualified to speak officially on behalf of our party in St. Johns County. We are taking this matter very seriously and are investigating. No Florida voter should be misled by anonymous, phony groups pretending to speak for the GOP.”
Richard Finke, Chair of St. John’s Democratic Party released the following statement to News4Jax, distancing itself from the situation:
“The St. Johns Democratic Party has had nothing to do with or knowledge of these events until today’s reporting. We don’t know of any organizations or individuals who do. It appears to be evidence of continued Republican infighting between the Trump club and the REC, who have been at odds for a long time over endorsements.
We are saddened by the continued disregard of our country’s democracy here in Northeast Florida and the nation at large. Our Party does not endorse one Democrat over another in the primary process.
We want the people to decide and then we will back that choice in the General Election. St. John’s Democratic Party is strongly united and focused on electing Democrats up and down the ballot. We welcome all Republicans and NPAs to join us in electing Kamala Harris as the next President of these United States.”
Early voting is scheduled from August 10th to August 17th, with Election Day set for August 20th, 2024.
Video via WOKV:
