This is when and where the DOJ better stomp down hard: [View all]
Floorida Voter Purge Will Continue, Defying Federal Warning
Florida will defy a federal warning to stop purging people the state suspects aren't U.S. citizens from voter registration rolls.
Despite a Justice Department letter, objections from county elections officials and evidence that a disproportionate number are voters of color, Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner's office planned to continue scrubbing the election rolls, a spokesman said Friday. Gov. Rick Scott (R) ordered the search for potentially ineligible voters.
“We have an obligation to make sure the voter rolls are accurate and we are going to continue forward and do everything that we can legally do to make sure than ineligible voters cannot vote,” said Chris Cate, a spokesman for Detzner. “We are firmly committed to doing the right thing and preventing ineligible voters from being able to cast a ballot. We are not going to give up our efforts to make sure the voter rolls are accurate."
Justice Department officials declined to comment on Florida’s plans.
In a letter issued late Thursday, T. Christian Herren Jr., who leads the Justice Department voting section, told Detzner that the state's plan to review the status of the 2,600 suspected non-citizens and purge them if the voters fail to prove citizenship appears to violate the 1964 Voting Rights Act and the National Voter Registration Act.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/02/florida-voter-purge-federal-warning_n_1564131.html
The warning was a shot across the bow of the ASS Governor Scott. He fired back.
If the DOJ does not stomp them into at least the mid-20th century, then they will reap what they sow. You cannot let a state government deny the voting rights of its citizens. This is a back door method that has replaced the poll tax and other forms of voter discrimination.
They better have a well thought out legal plan AND when they act, the DOJ has to control the message.
My bet is they don't want to appear to be fixing the vote for the President. If so and they don't act, they deserve to lose votes. However, the citizens who are rightfully being their rights don't deserve to be purged. If there is any place for a strong federal response its on this issue. If they smacked this revolt half as hard as they are smacking medical marijuana supporters, it would have been stopped yesterday.
The DOJ needs to highlight and let people see the citizens who are being denied the right to vote. They need to present a strong case in a short but unforgettable message right at the beginning. The details can then be laid out.
If they don't control the message, the GOP will. They are controlling it now with their false claims about massive voter fraud. The only massive fraud is the claims they are making about the size of the group who shouldn't vote and do. this is happening in a lot of states.
Some people have been very dismissive about Rmoney winning. You better remember two things. 270 and the places where voting shenanigans will be rampant. Ohio and Florida are just two of them and the Dems cannot afford to lose both in 2012. 270 electoral votes isn't hard to get especially when the game is rigged.
It is getting late early. The DOJ can't wait because the election isn't as far off as it may appear. There won't be time to stop and correct this in the last month or two.
If some of them handling this matter had been smacked on the head trying to cross the Edmund Pettis Bridge, then maybe they would understand what forces oppose them. For all the progress made in a lot of areas, some things haven't changed as much as they should have. It is and always will be a constant effort to stop regressive forces.
Either step up now and take a stand or reap the whirlwind as the Republicans slouch towards Washington dragging the entire country with them.
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