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Two voter fraud cases close with meager findings

Published Sept. 4, 2013

The potential for fraud in the 2012 presidential election was how Florida Republicans justified measures that made it tougher to register voters.

So nine months after ballots were counted, where exactly are the culprits of voter registration fraud?

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement hasn't found them.

The agency released the results of two more cases involving allegations of voter registration fraud.

In an inquiry into the Florida New Majority Education Fund, which aims to increase voter registration among underrepresented groups, the FDLE concluded it could make no arrests.

In another inquiry, involving Strategic Allied Consulting, a vendor for the Republican Party of Florida, an arrest was made of a man who stole the identity of a former girlfriend's ex-husband. He admitted to fraudulently filling out two voter registration forms.

And that was it.

No investigations this year have found fraud on a significant scale.

Two other cases involving Strategic Allied Consulting remain open, but even Gov. Rick Scott, who loudly sounded the alarm of fraud, appears to have moved on.

Biden cancels visit to Sunshine State

Vice President Joe Biden's trip to the University of Central Florida has been postponed, the White House said today.

Biden was scheduled to visit Thursday to discuss the administration's plans to address college affordability. The White House did not offer a reason, but a current focus is on Syria.

Few details on governors' dinner

Scott's hush-hush dinner with former Gov. Jeb Bush and Sen. John Thrasher Thursday at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables was a three-hour education talkfest. A detailed schedule shows the dinner was bracketed from 6 to 9 p.m.

State Board of Education Chairman Gary Chartrand also attended the dinner. No word on who picked up the tab.

Times staff writers Alex Leary and Steve Bousquet contributed to this week's Buzz.