State to Challenge U.S. Government on Voter Purge
June 4th, 2012 by Mike VasilindaThe State of Florida wants to keep checking the voter database for non citizens, even though the US Department of Justice has said the process is illegal this close to an election. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, the state is expected to argue the purge is just normal maintenance, which is allowed, when it responds later this week.
Candidates lined up Monday to get their name of the ballot this year. Others mailed their paperwork, detailing the area they want to represent. The unanswered question, though, is who’ll be able to vote for them. The U.S. Department of Justice has shut down state efforts to examine voter rolls within 90 days of the August election. We asked Governor Rick Scott why he ordered the effort now.
“There’s no perfect time to do any of these things,” Scott said. “We just want fair elections. That’s what all of us want.”
The State says it has been trying to get Federal approval for the purge and the use of a federal database since last September. A trail of emails show that conference calls to were cancelled by both sides.
As early as a month after first asking to use the database, the state was told it would need an alien database registration number for the computer to make the match. The Catch-22 is that the state doesn’t collect that number because it doesn’t register non-citizens.
What is clear is that the state is not giving up.
Reporter: The 90-day requirement doesn’t apply here, is that right?
“We’ll be addressing that in our letter to DOJ,” Secretary of State Spokesman Chris Cate said.
Reporter: And when will that letter go?
“We’ll send out our letter to DOJ this week,” Cate said.
Initial matches of voters to the state’s suspect list have gone overwhelmingly to the voter who was a citizen and properly registered.
Posted in Civil Rights, Elections, Rick Scott, State News, Voting | 1 Comment »