American judge and politician (born 1974)
Laurel Frances Lee (née Moore ; born March 26, 1974)[ 1] [ 2] U.S. representatives for Florida's 15th congressional district since 2023. A member of the Republican Party , she was a judge on Florida's Thirteenth Judicial Circuit from 2013 to 2019 and was the 30th Secretary of State of Florida from 2019 to 2022.[ 3]
Legal career
Lee began her legal career as an attorney for the Carlton Fields law firm in 2003 before becoming an assistant public defender in 2005.[ 4] Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida from 2007 until her appointment by then-Governor Rick Scott to a judgeship on the Hillsborough County Circuit Court in 2013.[ 5] [ 6] [ 7]
Florida Secretary of State
Lee was appointed Florida Secretary of State by Governor Ron DeSantis on January 28, 2019, replacing Mike Ertel , who resigned after less than a month in office when a 2005 photo of him wearing blackface as part of a Halloween costume as a Hurricane Katrina victim surfaced.[ 8] [ 9]
In October 2020, weeks before the 2020 election, Lee sought to purge felons from voter rolls if they had outstanding court debts. Politico called the move "a surprise, late-hour move that comes after more than 2 million people already have voted in the presidential battleground." Lee's decision was not distributed to the wider public, only to local election officials.[ 10]
In December 2021, Lee made a criminal referral to Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody seeking an investigation into potentially fraudulent signatures collected by Las Vegas Sands in a petition drive to get a constitutional amendment on the ballot for the November 2022 elections that would expand casino gambling.[ 11]
On May 12, 2022, Lee announced she was resigning effective four days later, seven months before the 2022 election. She did not offer a reason for resigning.[ 12] United States House of Representatives in Florida's 15th congressional district 2022 elections .[ 13]
U.S. House of Representatives
Tenure
On July 29, 2024, Lee was announced as one of seven Republican members of a bipartisan task force investigating the attempted assassination of Donald Trump .[ 14]
Committee assignments
For the 118th Congress :[ 15]
Personal life
Lee is married to Tom Lee , a former member of the Florida Senate . They have three children. They live in Brandon, Florida .[ 16] Protestant .[ 17]
References
^ "Florida New Members 2023" . November 17, 2022. Retrieved November 18, 2022 .^ "Laurel Moore - Attorney in Tampa, FL" . www.attorneys.org .^ "Governor Ron DeSantis Appoints Judge Laurel M. Lee as Florida Secretary of State" . Office of the Governor of Florida. January 28, 2019. Retrieved February 4, 2019 .^ "Governor Ron DeSantis Appoints Judge Laurel M. Lee As Florida Secretary Of State" . CBS Miami. January 28, 2019. Retrieved February 4, 2019 .^ "Two UF grads appointed to Hillsborough judgeships" . Tampa Bay Times. May 7, 2013. Retrieved February 4, 2019 .^ "Saint Peter Blog" . Archived from the original on August 18, 2014. Retrieved March 7, 2023 .^ "Gov. Ron DeSantis names Tampa judge Laurel M. Lee Florida Secretary of State" . Tallahassee Democrat . Tallahassee Democrat. January 28, 2019. Retrieved February 3, 2019 .^ "Tampa Judge Replaces Official Who Resigned Over Blackface Photos" . Seminole Heights, FL Patch . January 28, 2019.^ "Laurel Moore Lee" . www.fljud13.org .^ Fineout, Gary (October 15, 2020). "Florida acts to remove felons from voter rolls as election looms" . Politico PRO . Retrieved October 19, 2020 . ^ LAWRENCE MOWER; MARY ELLEN KLAS (January 20, 2022). "FL elections officials suspect fraud in signature gathering | Miami Herald" . www.miamiherald.com . Retrieved January 22, 2022 . ^ "Florida's secretary of state to resign ahead of upcoming elections" . WKMG-TV . May 12, 2022.^ "Former Fla. Secretary of State Lee joins crowded GOP field in U.S. House-15 race" .^ "House leaders announce members of bipartisan task force investigating Trump assassination attempt" . CBS News . Retrieved July 31, 2024 .^ "Laurel M. Lee" . Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved May 3, 2023 .^ "Rep. Laurel Lee - R Florida, 15th, In Office - Biography | LegiStorm" . www.legistorm.com . Retrieved January 4, 2023 .^ "Religious affiliation of members of 118th Congress" (PDF) . Pew Research Center Archived (PDF) from the original on March 16, 2023.
External links
