Elections Under Threat as Activists Want to See State Government End Florida Voter Purge Plans

Democracy, elections and voting at Democracy Chronicles

Rick Hasen’s Election Law Blog is a great place for the latest news about election reform.  Nowhere is the battle for election reform more ferocious and the results more important than in Florida where memories of mistakes during George Bush’s victory over Al Gore still remain raw.  In this gigantic and crucial swing State, there exists a constant battle for control over elections.  The recent push by the Florida government to remove 182,000 voters from eligibility to vote with the elections only a short period away has brought democracy supporters across the country back to Florida court rooms.  Recently, on the Institute For Southern Studies website, there was an interesting story about the most recent development

Last week, a judge blocked most of Florida’s aggressive new restrictions on how groups can register voters. In his opinion, U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle argued in his opinion that the time limits and penalties thrust onto groups like the League of Women Voters, which ultimately caused them to famously shut down their voter registration drive in the state, was unconstitutional:

“Together speech and voting are constitutional rights of special significance; they are the rights most protective of all others, joined in this respect by the ability to vindicate one’s rights in a federal court. … [W]hen a plaintiff loses an opportunity to register a voter, the opportunity is gone forever. And allowing responsible organizations to conduct voter-registration drives—thus making it easier for citizens to register and vote—promotes democracy.”

The New York Times also had an interesting story, found here, concerning the government of Florida’s refusal to back down over the issue, even in the face of  the federal Department of Justice:

That decision led the League and Rock the Vote to announce this week that they were resuming their voter registration drives in the battleground state. Saying the state would not stop trying to scrub the rolls of ineligible voters, Florida’s election chief told the Department of Justice on Wednesday that Florida was not violating any laws. The official, Ken Detzner, Florida’s secretary of state, accused the federal government of sullying the integrity of the election process by trying to thwart Florida’s efforts to remove voters who are not American citizens.

Election Law Blog also had an interesting post, found here, Florida to End Voter Purge: Elections in Florida Under Threat as State Government Moves to Block People From Voting, containing an email from the Brennan Center, NYU’s School of Law. Florida’s Secretary of State announced today that the state will not suspend its voter purging efforts, despite a warning from the Department of Justice that it may violate federal law. The Brennan Center released the following statement:

“We are disappointed with Secretary of State Detzner’s decision to press forward with this misguided voter purge. The state’s planned purge, so close to the election, opens the door to errors, confusion, and the removal of eligible voters,” said Wendy Weiser, Director of the Democracy Program. “The Department of Justice was correct in raising a concern about this process.  The Sunshine State cannot continue to operate its election process in darkness.”

The Brennan Center’s website also had a fascinating story by Myrna Perez, found here, about Florida’s local election administrators and their heroic efforts to protect voters:

Local election administrators form the front line in protecting voters from disenfranchisement. It was certainly welcome news that the Department of Justice sent a letter last week to Florida’s Secretary of State Ken Detzner to remind him of federal law prohibiting the Sunshine State from purging the voter rolls so close to an election. 

The article concludes with an interesting point:

The complications, confusion, and charged atmosphere these challenge groups create unnecessarily impose burdens on local supervisors who are already working hard to administer fair elections. If the challenge plans come to fruition, I hope local election administrators across the country continue to prove they have the power, ability, and obligation to protect voters.