A Miami city commissioner who’s running for mayor confirmed Thursday afternoon that investigators raided the home of one of his campaign workers.
City Commissioner Francis Suarez said authorities were looking for information related to a request for 20 absentee ballots inside the home of his media relations and outreach director, Juan Pablo Baggini. He lives at 8340 SW 105th St.
Suarez said his campaign hasn't done anything wrong.
“We’re confident that once the law enforcement officials review all the information that they have gathered that they will conclude that there was no willful violation of the law,” he said.
According to Suarez, Baggini and other campaign staffers held an event in Brickell to reach out to younger voters and gathered permission from the 20 voters to request the absentee ballots from election officials on their behalf. Suarez said Baggini transmitted that request over his computer, and that nothing that transpired violated election laws.
“We are confident that the all of different absentee ballot request forms were requested individually by people voluntarily and of their own volition,” Suarez said.
Suarez’s opponent in November, Mayor Tomas Regalado, took a wait-and-see stance Thursday.
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“I am not the state attorney and I am not the police but certainly this is a warning for all campaigns to do the right thing and do it right and do it the way the law says should be done,” Regalado said. “If everything is OK, I don't know why a house was raided by the police.”
Investigators will now go over what, if anything, they find at Baggini's residence associated with the request for absentee ballots.
Suarez said his staff has the written documentation to show each voter requested the absentee ballots.
“We are obviously completely cooperating with them,” Suarez said.
