WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (WPEC) — Gov. Ron DeSantis is pushing state lawmakers to greenlight a new election fraud task force in Florida, despite relatively few instances of voter fraud in the Sunshine State.

The proposed Office of of Election Crime and Security would be part of the Department of State and have a budget of $5.7 million, according to a draft budget the governor's office sent to state lawmakers. It would employ more than 50 people.

Critics argue election fraud is incredibly rare in Florida and the new agency is a waste of state resources.

"This is a solution in search of a problem. This is more about 2024 presidential politics than the reality on the ground," said Dave Aronberg, state attorney for the 15th Judicial Circuit in Palm Beach County. "There is no evidence of widespread election fraud. This is more performance art than anything that will really make a difference."

Only five Floridians have been arrested so far for alleged voter fraud in the 2020 election. Four are senior citizens and residents of the retiree heavy community, The Villages. At least three were supporters of former President Donald Trump.

DeSantis himself even praised Florida's 2020 election, saying the state ran "the most transparent and efficient election anywhere in the country."

Trump beat President Joe Biden by more than 300,000 votes in Florida.

However, DeSantis also signed a recent voting law, which added additional restrictions on casting a ballot. Republicans argued it would further secure state elections. The law was passed by state legislatures alongside a slate of other more restrictive election laws, passed by GOP-controlled states in the wake of the 2020 election and unfounded claims of widespread fraud from Trump.

DeSantis office does not argue there was widespread fraud in Florida. But, Larry Keefe, senior advisor to DeSantis on public safety, said he believes cases of voter fraud are underreported and under-investigated because states do not have the resources to pursue them.

"I think that the handful of prosecutions and convictions in this setting is not indicative of the number of complaints and the number of issues that were spotted and exposed," he said. "There's a lot of good that this [task force] can do that far outweighs some notion it is a solution in want of a problem."

Keefe indicated state officials are currently compiling a list of previously unreported potential election law violations to share with lawmakers, in order to drum up support for the new task force. But many of the examples may not be from the recent 2020 election.

"I believe that 2020 was a secure election in Florida and the things that I'm talking about are not necessarily in the 2020 election cycle," Keefe said in an interview.

Ultimately, state lawmakers will be tasked with deciding whether or not to greenlight the task force. Republicans control both houses of the state legislature Florida.