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June 14, 2012

Justice Department Sues Florida for Purging Voters

by Frederick H. Lowe
The U.S. Justice Department announced on Tuesday that it has sued the state of Florida and the Florida Secretary of State charging violations of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 by purging voters from the state's voter registration rolls within 90 days of a federal election.

The Justice Department, which filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida in Tallahassee, charged that Florida purged voters within the three-month quiet period before the state's Aug. 14, 2012, primary election.

The complaint also alleges that Florida's use of inaccurate and unreliable voter-verification procedures violate Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act that any such program must be uniform and nondiscriminatory.

Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner has been working with the state department of highway safety and motor vehicles to identify registered voters for possible removal from Florida's voter-registration system.

The Justice Department alleged in its lawsuit that the department of motor-vehicles database contains inaccurate information.

“Among the eligible voters erroneously identified as non-citizens by the defendants are individuals who became naturalized U.S. citizens within the past several years or who are native-born citizens, including decorated combat veterans who served in the United States Armed Forces,” the lawsuit alleges.

The Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law charged that the purges have targeted Florida's communities of color, particularly Hispanics. Although Hispanics comprise 14 percent of Florida's registered voters, they make up 61 percent of those on the list to be purged, said the Lawyers Committee.

“The Department of Justice has an overriding interest in protecting the rights of eligible citizens to register and vote free from unlawful burdens, while at the same time ensuring that ineligible persons do not register and vote in federal elections in violation of the law,” said Thomas Perez, assistant attorney general  for civil rights.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott told several television networks that he is enforcing the law by preventing individuals who are not citizens from voting.

The Sunshine State will pay a key role in the 2012 presidential election. President Barack Obama won Florida in the 2008 election.

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