Florida Ignores Department of Justice's Warning to Stop Voter Purge
Florida governor Rick Scott is concerned about non-citizens voting in the upcoming presidential election. At least, that's his excuse for singling out 182,000 registered voters suspected of not being U.S. citizens. That number has since been whittled down to 2,600, but the Department of Justice would like Florida to call off the purge entirely.
Florida, however, remains obstinate.
The voter purge, ordered by Governor Scott, is being carried out by Secretary of State Ken Detzner's office. Chris Cate, a spokesman for Detzner, released a statement reaffirming their plans.
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. We are firmly committed to doing the right thing and preventing ineligible voters from being able to cast a ballot.
Critics of the plan say that it unfairly targets minority voters — particularly Latinos — who tend to vote Democrat.
And indeed, the numbers are damning.
A Miami Herald analysis of the list found it was dominated by Democrats, independents and Hispanics. The largest number were from Miami-Dade, home to the state's highest foreign-born population.
In fact, while only 13 percent of the state's electorate is Latino, Hispanic voters account for 60 percent of the attempted purge. Scott insists that Florida is "absolutely not" targeting minorities.
So far, almost 450 targeted voters have responded with proof of citizenship, and another 35 say they have plans to do so. About 1,000 have yet to respond.
Governor Scott urges Floridians to get out there and vote — as long as they're not part of the voter purge, like this 91-year-old World War II veteran.
[Image via AP]