Thread: Rubio defends Florida voter roll purge

Jun 13, 2012

Rubio defends Florida voter roll purge

By Susan Page, USA TODAY Updated 2h 11m ago

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio on Tuesday defended controversial efforts by Florida Gov. Rick Scott to purge the Sunshine State's voter rolls, denying it has targeted Hispanics.

"I wouldn't characterize it as an effort to purge Latinos from the voting rolls," Rubio told reporters at a breakfast hosted by Bloomberg News. "I think there's the goal of ensuring that everyone who votes in Florida is qualified to vote. If you're not a citizen of the United States, you shouldn't be voting. That's the law."

Rubio, the highest-ranking Hispanic official in Florida, is seen as a potential pick by likely GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney as a running mate. Scott is also a Republican.

The Justice Department on Tuesday filed suit against the state to stop the voter purge, arguing in part that it violates a federal law that bans such steps within 90 days of a federal election. (Florida's primary is Aug. 14.) The ACLU of Florida also has filed a lawsuit, saying the effort violates the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which protects minority groups.

The civil liberties organization says Hispanics make up 14% of the Florida electorate but are 61% of several thousand registered voters who have been told to provide proof of citizenship or lose their right to vote.

Meanwhile, Florida is suing the federal Department of Homeland Security to get access to a database the state says could help identify non-citizens on the voter rolls. So far, state officials say 96 ineligible voters have been identified.

Rubio said there could be "a legitimate debate" about how to carry out the purge, but he called it a worthwhile effort.

"We know that there are at least 80 to 90 names on the list that don't belong," he said. "We should be concerned about that. We should be concerned about people that are registered in multiple states. And we should be concerned about our list that includes the names of people who have passed away, because I think that could lend itself to mayhem and madness."

Rubio defends Florida voter roll purge

The ACLU of Florida also has filed a lawsuit, saying the effort violates the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which protects minority groups.

The ACLU tries to make it about Hispanics when it is about illegal aliens, all illegal aliens, that are registered to vote in Florida.

The 1965 Voting act does not recognize "criminal" as a class.
Cortezano v. Salin Bank & Trust Co, might make a good rebuttal.

Seventh Circuit ruling clarifies that illegal aliens aren’t protected

Denver Business Journal by Bill C. Berger

Date: Monday, June 11, 2012, 6:00am MDT

Illegal aliens are not a protected class, according to a recent decision by the Seventh Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals. The case was decided under the country’s leading anti-discrimination law, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Title VII prohibits discrimination against employees “because of” their membership in a protected class. The statute lays out which classes are protected at work. Protected classes include race, color, creed, gender, etc. This case involved national origin.

http://www.alipac.us/f12/seventh-cir...tected-259157/

I know there are some better informed on some subjects than me. Is E-verify a good part of the solution for voter registrations, if so why not start there, or are they?

Added to the Homepage
http://www.alipac.us/content/rubio-d...oll-purge-623/