Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier on Friday announced the arrest of Alexandria Mary Beatrice Tatem on a charge of Perjury by False Written Declaration, a third-degree felony. The case stems from a joint investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Office of Executive Investigations and the Elections Crime Unit.
Uthmeier said the arrest underscores the state’s zero-tolerance stance on election fraud. “We will not tolerate fraud, let alone fraud that undermines the integrity of Florida’s nation-leading election system or uses the names of deceased voters to change our state’s constitution,” he said in a statement.
Investigators say Tatem, a registered Paid Petition Circulator (PPC), submitted a petition supporting the “Adult Personal Use of Marijuana” constitutional amendment (Amendment 25-01), sponsored by Smart & Safe Florida. The petition allegedly bore the name of Amy Akins, a Florida voter who died on Jan. 10, 2024 — more than a year before the date the petition was purportedly signed. The document was submitted to the Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections.
Under Florida law, PPCs must swear under penalty of perjury that each petition they submit was signed in their presence by the named voter. According to the arrest report, Tatem signed the affidavit affirming the petition was completed in her presence. In a sworn interview with FDLE on July 1, 2025, in Killeen, Texas, Tatem admitted signing the affidavit and submitting the petition despite being shown the voter had died more than a year earlier.
Records show Tatem has been registered as a PPC with the Florida Department of State’s Division of Elections since 2019, working in the Tampa Bay and Sarasota areas. Officials said the forged petition was flagged after the voter’s death date was matched against the alleged signature date.
The Florida Office of Statewide Prosecution is charging Tatem with one count of Perjury by False Written Declaration, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
