WFTV just had news at 6pm which said FDLE is investigating this statewide. A total of 4,000 students have been duped they said. WFTV reporter said YPM (YOUNG POLITICAL MAJORS), A TAMPA GROUP, was hired by ARNO POLITICAL CONSULTANTS, A CALIFORNIA COMPANY which has a website that brags about work on national campaigns. YPM was the group on the campuses. As an aside..ARNO is named in a lawsuit in Florida regarding 2 workers who forged signatures for $6.00 each in a gambling petition drive. I do not know the date.
What advantage is gained in Florida by being registered one way or the other in a general election?
Arno Political Consultants doesn't directly employ the hundreds of paid signature gatherers working on its behalf in Florida. As company president Michael Arno made clear to Monroe County investigators, they work as independent contractors and even subcontractors who pay them for every name brought in.
In this case (under "Former Workers Charged"), Arno themselves found the fraud and reported it. The State Attorney cleared them of any wrongdoing in the matter. In this case Arno fully cooperated with authorities and "welcomed the prosecution" of those submitting fraudulant votes. In another story he called the gatherers "self serving mercenaries". I have actually found no cases where Arno was prosecuted, only the subcontractors that worked for them.
From what I have read, the answer to the problem is finding an alternative to paying for each individual signature.