Florida Republicans determined to expand voter purge

Don't let Rick Scott decide 2012. (Joe Skipper/Reuters) Six of Florida's Democratic members of Congress are demanding that Gov. Rick Scott halt his voter purge, a process that Scott says is intended to make sure non-citizens aren't voting, but instead has targeted plenty of citizens'mostly Hispanic, Democratic and independent voters. The state isn't budging.

"Providing a list of names of questionable validity ' created with absolutely no oversight ' to county supervisors and asking that they purge their rolls will create chaotic results and further undermine Floridians' confidence in the integrity of our elections," stated the letter also signed by Florida Democratic Rep.'s Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Frederica Wilson, Corrine Brown and Kathy Castor. They asked Scott to "immediately suspend the purge of voter registration lists" in order to "ensure not one Floridian finds his or her legitimate voting rights callously stripped away."

The state is not just holding fast on continuing the purge, however, but determined to expand it.

Chris Cate, a spokesman for the state Division of Elections, defended the state's actions. "It's very important we make sure ineligible voters can't cast a ballot," he said in an email to theHerald on Tuesday.

He said the state continues to identify ineligible voters, saying the state Division of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles has agreed to update information using a federal database that the elections division couldn't access directly.

"We won't be sending any new names to supervisors until the information we have is updated, because we always want to make sure we are using the best information available," Cate wrote. "I don't have a timetable on when the next list of names will be sent to supervisors, but there will be more names."

They've sent nearly 2,700 letters already, with more to come. An analysis by Think Progress shows how in just one county, hundreds of voters have been incorrectly purged.

- 1638 people in Miami-Dade County were flagged by the state as 'non-citizens' and sent letters informing them that they were ineligible to vote.
- Of that group, 359 people have subsquently provided the county with proof of citizenship.
- Another 26 people were identified as U.S. citizens directly by the county.

Hundreds, if not thousands, of Democratic-leaning voters will be kicked off the voting rolls unless this is stopped. The 2012 presidential election could be decided by Florida, and by this voter purge, unless this is stopped. Remember, the 2000 election was decided by 537 Florida votes (well, and the Supreme Court). It would be hard for Mitt Romney to win without Florida's 29 electoral votes, and the state's Republicans aren't going to stop at anything to deliver them. Including breaking federal law.

That's what they're doing with this purge. The state is in violation of the National Voting Rights Act, which prohibits purging voters from the rolls within 90 days of an election. Florida's primary is on August 14. Under that Act, the Department of Justice has the power to stop it.

Tell the DOJ to halt the purge. Sign our petition asking the Department of Justice to prevent Florida's planned voter roll purge.