The New York Times editorial board members aren’t the only ones hyperventilating over the Florida voting roll purge, as John Steele Gordon noted earlier. The Department of Justice is now demanding that state election officials halt efforts to remove ineligible felon and illegal immigrant voters from its registration rolls, claiming the process may discriminate against minorities:
Florida’s effort appears to violate both the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which protects minorities, and the 1993 National Voter Registration Act – which governs voter purges – T. Christian Herren Jr., the Justice Department’s lead civil rights lawyer, wrote in a detailed two-page letter sent late Thursday night.
State officials said they were reviewing the letter. But they indicated they might fight DOJ over its interpretation of federal law and expressed frustration that President Barack Obama’s administration has stonewalled the state’s non-citizen voter hunt for nine months.
“We are firmly committed to doing the right thing and preventing ineligible voters from being able to cast a ballot,” said Chris Cate, spokesman for Secretary of State Ken Detzner, who was ordered by Gov. Rick Scott to conduct the search for potentially ineligible voters.
Florida has found 2,700 registered voters so far that it believes may not be U.S. citizens. It has sent the list to local election supervisors for further investigation, which includes contacting the potential non-citizens by mail. If the individuals don’t respond within a two-month time frame, they may be removed from the voting rolls — which seems like a fairly logical request.
According to the Miami Herald, the problem is the Florida purge may be discriminatory because the list of potential illegal immigrant voters “disproportionately hits” the Hispanic community:
About 58 percent of those flagged as potential non-citizens are Hispanics, Florida’s largest ethnic immigrant population, a Miami Herald analysis found. Hispanics make up 13 percent of the overall 11.3 million active registered voters.
The DOJ could solve this entire problem by simply supporting voter ID laws. It would save state election officials the time and energy of figuring out who is and is not a legitimate citizen, and reduce the chances of human error during voter roll purges. Instead, the DOJ is doing the exact opposite, which just goes to show how serious this administration is about voting integrity.
Bill Internicola is one of many lucky Floridians who got a polite letter from the state, telling him that, unless he filled out a form to request an administrative hearing to prove that he was eligible to vote within the next 30 days, he’d be removed from the voter rolls. Internicola is Brooklyn-born. World War II vet. Awarded a Bronze Star. n nMaureen Russo was born in Akron, Ohio. For the last 40 years she’s operated a dog boarding and grooming business — Bobbi’s World Kennels — with her husband in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Maureen is 60 years old and has been a registered voter in the state for the last four decades. She regularly votes at the church around the corner from her home. n nTwo weeks ago she received a letter from the State of Florida informing her that they had received information that she was not born in this country and, therefore, was ineligible to vote. n nShe immediately sent off a registered letter to the State with a copy of her passport. She hasn’t heard anything back. n nRick Scott will end up purging far more eligible voters from the rolls than the number of fraud cases Florida had in the last election. Rick Scott puts the "DUH" in Florida. n n
thanks, PJ, for reminding us of the ridiculous administrative errors that happen when big government bureaucracies get involved. just one of the many many reasons Obamacare would be a disaster. n nthese individual stories can sound scary, but I'm willing to bet that all legally eligible citizens will be able to vote, even tho it might take some infuriating phone calls to an understaffed office (that gubmint bureaucracy thing again) to clear up the problem. n nwhat I find most amusing is that voter fraud is now a partisan issue. it seems that the Republicans would prefer that you don't vote if you're a) not a citizen or b) dead, whereas the Democrats don't mind if you're both. n n n n
Shark Attacks outnumber cases of voter fraud in Florida 72-49 since 2008. n nVoter fraud is a partisan issue because Republicans are using it as a fig leaf to suppress turnout. If you want all voters to show id, then ensure that all eligible voters either have it or have easy access to obtain it. You are "willing to bet" on the most fundamental right we have as Americans. Instead of betting on it, why don't you push for a standard form of voter id to be issued to all eligible voters?
That's ridiculous – you mean: the cases of detected and reported voter fraud. The overwhelming cases of voter fraud are undetectable due to the fact that no ID is required to prove otherwise. n nHere in California, ID is required to register but not to vote. That not only invites fraud but demolishes the flimsy argument that poor people can't get ID's. Are there states where there is no ID required to register to vote? How could you possible register people to begin with if you have no idea who they are? Is there any rational person who thinks we should leave our most precious civic duty to the vagaries of the honor system? n
AMEN! Especially to the "HONOR" of Democrats! n nThe cynical phrases "Vote early — and often" and "Vote early — and vote often" are variously attributed to three different Chicagoans: Al Capone, the famous gangster; Richard J. Daley, mayor from 1955 to 1976; and William Hale Thompson, mayor from 1915-1923 and 1931-1935. All three were notorious for their corruption and their manipulation of the democratic process. It is most likely that Thompson invented the phrase, and Capone and Daley later repeated it. n nAll three were Democrats. n nThey are now intimidating voters in Wisconsin, BY SENDING NAMES OF THOSE WHO DID NOT VOTE in letters in a "campaign mailer". nAnd sent notification to Dim Convention delegates THAT PHOTO ID WILL BE REQUIRED TO ENTER THE DIM CONVENTION BUILDING! n nThe Dim Party should be DISENFRANCHISED EN TOTO for voter fraud.
Maureen Russo likely is a victim of identity theft and, if so, owes Rick Scott a big-time "thank you" for catching it this way — the other way folk often find out is when they get arrested for a warrant issued in their stolen name. Or when the IRS is after them for taxes they didn't owe, or when they don't get their tax return because someone else stole it. This is a big-time problem in Florida right now. n nMy gut feeling here is that an illegal alien — who wasn't born in this country — stole Russo's identity, used it (or one of the variety of licenses/permits that Russo must have to run said dog boarding/grooming industry), and THAT is what generated this letter. n nAnd maybe — just maybe — the reason why she hadn't heard anything back is that maybe they are going to look a little bit more at the other woman claiming to be Maureen Russo, whom they now know not to be her. And this is a bad thing?
Ed, I agree with you that Maureen Russo is the victim of identity theft. n nRick Scott is the thief.
Why is it acceptable to say something like that, totally unfounded, about a Republican Conservative but not someone like Obama? n nWhy?
It's not unfounded. Maureen Russo has had her right to vote taken away by Rick Scott.
They always send out such letters from ALL counties, when they go through the rolls and think people may have moved or died. n nIt is S.O.P., and with 30 days to respond, most folks respond and say, here is proof of my being alive and having continuing establishment of local residence. IF they miss the notification due to change of address, but remaining local residency as my sister and her husband experienced a few years ago, you simply go to the County Clerk and set things right. n n For this reason, it is always wise to check with your local County Clerk about 60 days before an Election if you have NOT received a new Voting Card in the mail from them, to assure you of your CURRENT status. Our Counties also put a notice in the local media that a purge is going on. THIS ONE IS WELL ADVERTIZED and so anyone who is in the area who wants to vote should check with the local Clerk AND ESTABLISH THEIR CURRENT BONAFIDES! n nIt is NOT a reason to halt NECESSARY PURGES of INELIGIBLE VOTERS and ILLEGAL AND DEAD persons on the rolls. n nYour DEAD great great great grandparents DO NOT HAVE A RIGHT TO VOTE this year! n nNEITHER do your MEXICO CITIZEN neighbors.
United States law proscribes purges from the voter rolls within 90 days of an election. Florida has a primary election within 90 days. Rick Scott is breaking the law.
Ironic how OH EM GEE this is, yet they didn't just blindly remove her, there's a process. Nothing like .02% of the voters up for purging then 1 or 2 of them (supposedly) receiving letters incorrectly. n nWAHMBULANCE is back in production, must be made by GM.
I was once told by a police officer that he wasn't going to write me a ticket because my drivers' license came back that I was deceased, and he couldn't go before the judge with a straight face and state that he stopped a dead guy for speeding. n nThere is a very solid and rational process for addressing situations where people have mistakenly (or allege to have been mistakenly) removed from the voter rolls — permit them to cast a provisional absentee ballot. You put this in another envelope with the person's name and other info on it, and you put all these into a really big box. n nIf the victor wins by significantly more votes than the total number of envelopes in this really big box, you say all of these votes, even if they all were legitimate voters, wouldn't influence the election and don't bother with them. HOWEVER, if the election is close, then you go back and give each person the opportunity to show if his/her/its ballot should be counted or not. n nCase in point, the Shutesbury, MA library referendum where there were disputes over the votes of two adult children of a resident (the children now living elsewhere but still on the town rolls since high school) and two more votes cast by retired folk with winter homes in Florida. This process works — sometimes it goes to the State Supreme Judicial Court, but the process is fair and does work.
Amen! n n Ditto for my sister and her husband a few years ago, who changed mailing addresses but not residence (and so the SOP mailers came back from the wrong address unanswered) and they had been seen around the courthouse in the 2 weeks previous, where my b-n-l had been called and was present for Jury Duty – by clerks who did not check the same room the vote registrations wee in for the vehicle registrations to find that car stickers had just been paid up as well. They had to have provisional ballots, but it got straightened out THROUGH DUE PROCESS. nAlso in their case, the Clerk was b-n-l's cousin's wife! n nThey just went through the process.
Oh, and there is the classic: "Vote early and often for Curley." n nThis was the mantra that folks were told by the supporters of the legendary-corrupt James Michael Curley — vote early in the day so that when you went back later, they wouldn't remember you, vote often (with a variety of names), and vote Curley — for whatever he was running for this year. n
Mr. White and Mr. Mitch Daniels both exemplify RINOS everywhere beautifully. n nWe Conservatives are always as glad to see them get their Just Due as we are all Dims. n n You fail to confess that Thompson was still a very dirty politician who always "managed" to "defeat" some strong-minded REFORM candidates. So all his conduct is STEREOTYPICAL Democrat a la ERIC HOLDER, Daley, Joe and Ted Kennedy, Texas Judge Archer Parr, etc, etc, etc, et al
And he doctored the ballot boxes because Republicans DO NOT SUPPORT such practices and he used it to defeat REPUBLICANS! But everywhere we look, Democrat voters PROUDLY support Dim Fraud voting machines – PROUDLY! n nRepublicans do not.
Dear Rose, n nA simple "thank you" for correcting your error would have been so nice. You stated that William Hale Thompson was a Democrat. He was not. He was a Republican.
I never bow to being put in a box. n If I had stopped there, it would appear the parties have the identical attitude towards FRAUD. They do not. n Thompson was clearly NOT a Republican in SPIRIT, and his practices were adopted later NOT BY MORE REPUBLICANS but by DIMS. nAnd Chicago DIMS today have greatly expounded upon those fraudulent ways. Republicans still reject them. Chicago still suffers.
If you had stopped there, you'd look like less of a lunatic.