Florida Attorney General James Usmieryer announced on Friday the arrest of Alexandria Mary Beatrice Tatém on charges of perjury in a false written declaration, his third felony. The case stems from a joint investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Electoral Crimes Unit.
Uthmeier said the arrests underline the state’s zero-tolerance stance against election fraud. “We will not tolerate fraud, not tolerating fraud, but to change the state’s constitution using the names of deceased voters, not to mention fraud that undermines the integrity of the Florida country’s biggest electoral system,” he said in a statement.
Investigators say Tatem, a registered pay petition square (PPC), has filed a petition in support of the “Individual Use of Marijuana by Adults” constitutional amendment (Amendment 25-01), sponsored by Smart & Safe Florida. The petition is said to have given birth to the name of Amy Akins, a Florida voter who passed away on January 10, 2024. This document was submitted to the Hillsboro County Supervisor of the election.
Under Florida law, the PPC must swear under penalties of perjury that each petition they filed has been signed in their presence by the nominated voters. According to the arrest report, Tatem signed an affidavit and confirmed that the petition was completed in front of her. In an oath interview with Fdle in Killeen, Texas on July 1, 2025, Tatem signed the affidavit and admitted that he filed the petition despite showing that voters had died more than a year ago.
Records show that TATEM has been registered as a PPC in the State Department’s election division in Florida since 2019 and works in the Tampa Bay and Sarasota areas. Officials said the forged petition was flagged after the voter’s death date coincided with the signing date.
The prosecutor’s office across the state has been charged with TATEM on one perjury by a false written declaration, which has the biggest penalty in a five-year prison.
