Escambia Sex Offender Sentenced For Illegally Voting In 2020, Submitting Voter Registrations

April 21, 2023

An Escambia County sex offender has been sentenced to probation for voting illegally in the 2020 election and completing multiple voter registration applications over a two year period.

Michael DeWayne Collins entered a plea of no contest to one felony count of election fraud for voting in the 2020 presidential election and  four felony counts of perjury for completing voter registration applications four times between August 2020 and October 2022.

Judge Linda Nobles sentenced Collins to a total of 36 months probation for all five counts.

In June 2001, Collins was convicted of lewd or lascivious battery on a victim age 12-16, a second degree felony sexual offense, making him ineligible to vote. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement said Collins affirmed on each application that he was not a convicted felon when, in fact, he was and his voting rights had not been restored.

Court records show the Escambia County Supervisor of Elections Office notified Collins by mail that they had no records and that he was ineligible to vote. Collins told investigators he did not contact the Supervisor of Elections because it was “time consuming”, and he filed out additional applications because he forgot that he received the letters, according to FDLE.

Collins told FDLE that he received a letter in 2019 from an unknown group or organization trying to get people to vote, and the letter stated he was still eligible to vote. FDLE said the letter was not from the state.

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News