By HENRY FREDERICK / Headline Surfer
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Daytona Beach City Commissioner Derrick Henry and Genesis Robinson, his election campaign manager, were both arrested Wednesday on multiple counts of absentee ballot fraud and voting violations.
Henry is charged specifically with two counts of absentee ballots and voting violations, nine counts of being a principal to absentee ballots and voting violations, and one count of conspiracy to commit absentee ballots and voting violations. And Robinson is accused of 11 counts of being a principal to absentee ballots and voting violations and one count of conspiracy to commit absentee ballots and voting violations.
The charges against both are third-degree felonies, punishable by up to five years in prison and fines of up to $5,000, if convicted.
Henry, 41, won re-election to the non-partisan Zone 5 city commission seat on Aug. 24 but faces suspension from office following an investigation in which he and his campaign manager, Genesis Robinson, 21, admitted to fraudulently ordering dozens of absentee ballots.
According to the official results of the Aug. 24 election, Henry received 799 votes, easily defeating opponents Walter Fordham (218 votes), and Mario Henderson (212 votes).
Volusia County Elections Supervisor Ann McFall said in the several weeks prior to the election, she became suspicious of a large group of absentee ballot requests that were sent online and using a single email address, even though these same ballots were requested for unrelated people at different residences.
"I thought it was a candidate who didn't understand the law," said McFall, who tried to email the requester back. When she didn't receive a reply, she notified the State Attorney's Office and the Volusia County Sheriff's Office.
McFall said the ballots were mailed and less than 20 were returned.
Here is a synopsis of what occurred, according to McFall: The joint investigation by the Sheriff's Office and the State Attorney's Office found the men had requested 92 absentee ballots fraudulently for the Aug. 24 primary. By law, residents are only allowed to request absentee ballots for themselves, immediate family members, or for someone for whom they're acting as legal guardian.
Henry, first elected to office in 2008, could soon be suspended from the seven-member Daytona Beach City Commission. Gov. Charlie Crist has the authority to do so. On Wednesday afternoon, the governor's office was reviewing the arrest reports.
Neither Henry nor Robinson could be reached for comment.
Daytona Beach city spokeswoman Susan Cerbone said a suspension would trigger a special election sometime in December to temporarily fill the seat, which represents a historically black neighborhood north of U.S. 92 and west of the railroad tracks. City commissioners are paid $16,599 a year, Cerbone said.
Investigators interviewed the people whose names were used on the ballot requests and these were their findings:
• One of the residents said she received an absentee ballot in the mail even though she hadn't requested one, according to sheriff's spokesman Gary Davidson, who added, the resident said a few days later one of Henry's campaign workers showed up at her house and asked if she had received her ballot and had filled it out. The resident said she got the ballot while the campaign worker waited. Then she filled it out, sealed and signed the ballot, and turned it over to the campaign worker, Davidson said.
• In another case, a resident said Henry offered to get him an absentee ballot and the resident agreed. But when the ballot arrived at the man's house, it came with a second ballot for a former resident who had moved away in 2007, the sheriff's PIO said.
• In another situation, two requests that were made in the name of a resident were subsequently rejected by the elections office because the resident's voter status had been classified as inactive, Davidson said. Investigators sought out the man to see if he knew why the absentee ballot requests had been made on his behalf. But after investigating, officials discovered that the man didn't request the ballots and hasn't lived or voted in Florida in more than two decades.
• Henry also had requested an absentee ballot for his niece, listing her address as a home registered to Henry that was located within Zone 5, Davidson said. But investigators discovered that even though the niece used the absentee ballot to vote in the Zone 5 race, she actually lives outside of Zone 5.
• Robinson acknowledged during an interview with investigators, coming up with the strategy of applying online for absentee ballots, saying that Henry had approved the idea back in April when Robinson presented it to him, Davidson said.
Editor's Note: NSB News (NSBNews.net) was changed to Headline Surfer (HeadlineSurfer.com) in 2012. This story was posted Wed, 10/27/2010 - 13:25.
About the Byline Writer: Henry Frederick is a member of the working press and publisher of Headline Surfer, the award-winning 24/7 internet news outlet launched in 2008, that serves greater Daytona Beach, Sanford & Orlando from Lake Mary, Florida via HeadlineSurfer.com. Frederick has amassed close to 150 award-winning bylines in print & online. He earned his Master of Arts in New Media Journalism from Full Sail University in 2019. He was a breaking news reporter (metro cops & courts beat) for the Daytona Beach News-Journal for nearly a decade. And Before that worked the same beat for The Journal-News/Gannett Suburban Newspapers in Rockland/Westchester counties, NY, dating back to 1989. Having witnessed the execution of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Florida's death chamber and covering other high profile cases, Frederick has appeared on national crime documentary shows on Discovery ID, Reelz, and the Oxygen Network series "Snapped" for his analysis. • Award-Winning Journalism: Florida Press Club recognizes Headline Surfer for nine stories in 2020 statewide competition. • Award-Winning Journalism of Henry Frederick.