Florida Voter Purge: WWII Hero Told He is Not a Citizen as Dangerous Repercussions Become Apparent

Democracy, elections, and voting at DC news network

There has a flurry of activity among election reformers around the country as Florida has moved to prohibit large numbers of elderly, women and minorities from voting.  With Florida’s well known history of mishandled and mismanaged elections as well as the huge stakes involved in Florida regarding upcoming Presidential elections, the stakes are huge.  Rick Hasen at Election Law Blog has the latest on the issue with a story of how a World War II hero received a letter from the State of Florida informing him that he is not a citizen of the United States:

Bill Internicola is a 91-year-old, Brooklyn-born, World War II veteran. He fought in the Battle of the Buldge and received the Bronze Star for bravery. He’s voted in Florida for 14 years and never had a problem. Three weeks ago, Bill received a letter from Broward County Florida stating “You are not a U.S. Citizen” and therefore, ineligible to vote. He was given the option of requesting “a hearing with the Supervisor of Elections, for the purpose of providing proof that you are a United States citizens” or forfeit his right to vote. 

The original story comes from the ThinkProgress website, a ‘progressive’ organization funded by the Center for American Progress.  ThinkProgress was voted “Best Liberal Blog” in the 2006 Weblog Awards so they are not exactly Republican.  In an article you can find in full here, they give some more information about the veteran and his situation:

Three weeks ago, Bill received a letter from Broward County Florida stating “You are not a U.S. Citizen” and therefore, ineligible to vote. He was given the option of requesting “a hearing with the Supervisor of Elections, for the purpose of providing proof that you are a United States citizens” or forfeit his right to vote.

This decorated World War II veteran is just one of hundreds of fully eligible U.S. citizens being targeted by Governor Scott’s massive voter purge just prior to this year’s election, according to data obtained from Florida election officials by ThinkProgress. The purge list, according to an analysis by the Miami Herald, targets mostly Democrats and Hispanics.

Also take a look at a similar letter sent to another citizen of Florida who is actually been a registered voter in Florida for the last 40 years:

As the details of the Florida Voter Purge become more widely known, some in Congress have begun to express outrage at Florida’s actions:

Six Democratic members of Congress are asking Florida Gov. Rick Scott to suspend a push to remove voters from the rolls. Democrats sent a letter Tuesday to Scott questioning the timing and the accuracy of the effort to purge voters identified as non U.S. citizens. The state has already put out an initial list of more than 2,600 people identified as non-U.S. citizens. But local election officials charged with checking the list have discovered errors.