Thread: Fla. Voter purge may not stop despite federal demand

Voter purge may not stop despite federal demand

By Scott Powers and Brittany Wallman, Orlando Sentinel
12:18 p.m. EST, June 1, 2012

Federal officials have told Florida to stop or justify its purge of suspected non-U.S. citizens from voter registration rolls, but the federal action might not stop much of the process put in action three weeks ago.

In a letter late Thursday, T. Christian Herren Jr. chief of the U.S. Department of Justice's voting section, told Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner that the state's plan to review the status of 2,600 suspected non-citizens – then purge them from the rolls if they are not confirmed as citizens – appears to be in violation of the National Voter Rights Act of 1965, and should be stopped.

Because five Florida counties -- Hillsborough, Monroe, Collier, Hardee and Hendry -- specifically fall under provisions of the Voting Rights Act, the purge effort needs review and permission by the Justice Department or a U.S. District Court, Herren stated. He added that the law also requires that any removal of voters within 90 days before an election be pre-approved; Florida's primary is Aug. 14.

"Please advise us whether the State intends to cease ... so the Department can determine what further action, if any, is necessary,'' Herren stated.

Herren wants a response by next Wednesday, and Detzner has promised one.

But the process Detzner started on May 8, with notices going out to Florida's 67 counties, is in the hands of those counties' supervisors of elections, regardless of the federal clash with Florida's secretary of state.

Detzner distributed a list of more than 2,600 people who were listed by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles as non-citizens but who also showed up on voter registration lists. Most of the names were in South Florida; Orange County had 81; Osceola, 26; Lake, 13; and Seminole, 5.

The county supervisors of elections were in the process of trying to track down those people and get them to show evidence of whether or not they are citizens. But supervisors in both South and Central Florida have cited examples of angry voters – including a 91-year-old World War II veteran from Broward County – who produced proof of citizenship.

The supervisors are on their own to decide what they want to continue and what they want to stop, said Secretary of State spokesman Chris Cate.

"We just received the letter from DOJ late yesterday, and haven't had a chance to thoroughly review it yet. Bottom line is we are firmly committed to doing the right thing and preventing ineligible voters frombeing able to cast a ballot," Cate said.

Orange County Elections Supervisor Bill Cowles, a Democrat, said his office will continue trying to track down voters on the list, but will not take any actions against any who do not respond. On the other hand, he said, the county will purge any voters who respond by volunteering information that indicates they are not citizens. His office has received information from two people who proved their citizenships and there others who admitted they were not citizens. The three non-citizens were dropped from the voter rolls.

Seminole Elections Supervisor Mike Ertel, a Republican, said he intends to keep going. His office had received information from one voter who proved his citizenship, and is awaiting responses from four others.

"We're absolutely going to continue on with that process," he said, of the four voters he has yet to hear from (one has produced proof of citizenship.) "In the absence of an injunction, we're not going to stop the process itself."

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In South Florida, Broward elections supervisor Dr. Brenda Snipes said Thursday that anyone who signs for the certified letter and fails to respond within 30 days would be removed from the rolls. She said state law requires her to act on evidence of ineligible voters, and she has no choice but to do so.

Those who don't respond and can't be located by her office, she said Thursday, would be listed in a newspaper ad warning the voters they have 30 days to provide evidence of citizenship. After that period, Snipes said she'd send a final letter advising the name would be stricken from the voter log.

A person whose name is not on the registered voter list would be required to vote on a provisional ballot on Election Day, and would have two days to deliver proof of legitimacy. But the vote would not be counted on Election Day. Provisional ballots come into play in close elections

The state has defended its effort, and Gov. Rick Scott, who led the voter-roll cleanup, has referred questions to the Department of State.

But that department on Thursday admitted its own concerns about the accuracy of the list. Cate said no more voter purge lists would be developed and distributed until the databases could be reviewed for accuracy

Detzner said he needs access to a federal Homeland Security database to improve it. He sent a letter late Thursday asking for access for the federal records, a request he said he'd made repeatedly over nine months. In his letter, he acknowledged that the state's "ability to validate a person's legal status as up-to-date [is] limited.''

Earlier this week, six members of Congress, led by U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Boca Raton, sent a letter to Scott asking for the "immediate suspension'' of the voter-log cleanup effort, saying the list of suspected non-citizens has "questionable validity'' and thus would be "irresponsible'' to act on.

smpowers@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5441.

Florida voter purge: Voter purge may not stop despite federal demand - Orlando Sentinel

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