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September 13, 2012

Victims of Florida Voter Purge to See Rights Restored 
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In Florida, voters purged from the rolls after they were mistakenly
labeled as non-citizens will have their voting rights restored in time
for the November election. Earlier this year, Florida officials under
Republican Gov. Rick Scott created a list of supposed non-citizens who
would be barred from voting unless they proved their citizenship within
30 days. At least two counties removed voters because they did not
respond to certified letters and newspaper ads. On Wednesday, Florida
announced that it had used a federal immigration database to identify
207 voters who are not citizens, compared to the initial claim of 2,600.
The state has also reached an agreement with voting rights groups that
had challenged the purge, saying it unfairly targeted Latinos. Under the
settlement, Florida officials agreed to inform the more than 2,000
eligible voters mistakenly placed on the purge list that they are in
fact eligible to vote.

 

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