Politics
Elections Supervisors: Search for Noncitizens May Resume after August Primary
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Supervisors say the delay is needed as the state may take a couple of weeks completing an agreement for access to the Department of Homeland Security database. They also point to the need for the state to train workers on the new system, comply with federal regulations for five counties where early voting begins in less than two weeks, and the intention by the state to update the lists of potential noncitizens.
“Nothing is going to happen before the primary,” said Martin County Supervisor of Elections Vicki Davis, president of the Florida State Association of Supervisors of Elections.
“So we’re basically on hold.”
The supervisors, in a conference call with legal counsel on Tuesday, agreed not to take any action until the agreement was signed.
However, they do intend to write Secretary of State Ken Detzner asking that when the new lists of potential noncitizens are sent out that each name includes a case file to justify the need for the review, similar to how felons are handled between the state and county offices, Davis said.
The federal government announced Saturday that they would at long last make the Homeland Security Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements program (SAVE) database available to the state.
Chris Cate, spokesman for Secretary of State Ken Detzner, said Monday that once the agreement is signed, the state will first run the 2,625 names already sent to the counties through the database.
The state will then rerun the 180,000 names through the system to get state driver’s licenses before putting a more updated list through the federal database, Cate said.
Democrats have argued that the state effort is a push to remove minorities from the list of registered voters prior to the 2012 presidential contest.
The Department of Justice has claimed the state’s effort to remove voters may violate the 1965 Voting Rights Act -- requiring federal preclearance before undertaking any changes in Monroe, Hillsborough, Collier, Hardee and Hendry counties, which have past experience with minority-voting problems -- and that because of the 1993 National Voter Registration Act, time has run out for the review before the 2012 elections.
Reach Jim Turner at jturner@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 215-9889.
Comments (12)
Interesting hypocrisy, isn't it.
Or the almost as old Republican WWII vet and his wife in Indiana, which has a similar law, who had their votes for Romney not count earlier this year because they didn't have a driver's license, correct?
As to that "bring their proof of citizenship to DMV and they will reissue one that will be the only ID acceptable for voting and it will not cost them anything", you're also going to pay for their taxi rides and give them priority service, so at 91 years old, they don't have to get there an hour early and wait in line standing for another two hours after the DMV opens like I did recently, correct?
We know who the parasites are, they're the Tea Party types who don't want to pay for needed services, yet want to dictate the rules for our lives, require mandatory unnecessary medical procedures for pregnant women, restrict free speech (e.g. doctors talking to their patients by either requiring speech about abortion or prohibiting it about guns), demonize Arab-Americans (like Michele Bachmann), carry out racial profiling (like Sheriff Joe Arpaio and Governor Jan Brewer), spout birther nonsense (like Donald Trump), and call everyone not like themselves communists (like Allen West), etc., etc., etc.
I'll match my number of legal voters removed from the election rolls just prior to the 2000 Florida election and match it against your list of convicted fradulent voters SINCE 2000 in Florida, and still outnumber you better than 100:1 and likely even more than 1000:1.
So whose vote is being cancelled out?
We know who's trying to scam the system, and it isn't Democrats.
We know who's tearing this country apart, and it isn't Democrats.
Or shall I just start quoting Republican leaders to prove this case in their own words. I've done that before here, and I can do it again.
I would like to know what Tea Party group you belong to since you know so much about what the tea party movement believes. What have you learned for yourself versus reading in media? You're a little off though. We believe in Constitutionally limited government, fiscal responsibility, and free markets. If it doesn't fit inside the Constitution, we don't want it and neither should you. The tea party movement doesn't touch the social issues, but individuals are free to if they choose.
I did the research in Orange County Florida. I spent a month getting the jury excuse notes of 1,100 plus people who said they couldn't serve due to non-citizen status, the 4,200 felons, and the 1,200 plus who were dead. Out of the 1,100 we've proven just under 200 are registered to vote and 90 who did vote. These are facts. Not opinions. Any illegal vote disenfranchises a legal vote. If you are not for free and fair elections, what are you for?
Those were REAL VOTES LOST.
If you discovered 90 illegal voters who voted in Orange County, why aren't they being prosecuted? And to my knowledge, they aren't.
I'll believe your "research" numbers when you provide a verifiable source (or even a hard copy published newspaper source) for that data.
And just to be clear, there are Tea Parties, and there are Tea Parties.
I have no problem with having a civil discourse over legitimate policy differences. What I will not stand are blantant lies, racism, or aggressive techniques like those that forced my firend Kathy Castor off the stage at a Town Hall meeting a few years ago, and those I routinely see coming from supposed Tea Party folks on this and other news sites and blogs.
Those types of democracy disruptive tactics, racism or outright lying, whether carried out by the right-wing or the left, are despicable.
If your brand of Tea Party wants civil discourse, fine, we'll have that discussion.
If your brand of Tea Party wants to disrupt, lie and racially taunt others, don't expect me to remain silently by, and unfortunately their actions taint all Tea Parties, including those who just want civil dialogue.
Perhaps if you did more to separate yourselves from Tea Parties that DO get into social issues, that DO use racism as a tool or allow membership by those who make such statements (as I've called out in other articles on this site), and that DO want to be disruptive, more people would listen to your views.
Based on my firsthand experiences over the past five years, just the mention of someone representing they are representing a "Tea Party" generally gets a deaf ear from me unless someone I respect is involved or it becomes apparent that they actually have something to actually offer.
I know what Tea Parties are supposed to be about. My experience has been that the ones I've encountered have been about other issues without matching that promise when one starts talking to the indivuduals involved.
So I now look at anything Tea Party with a jaundice eye, but not without a verifying past (and current) history and experience that justifies that view.
I'm willing to listen to your facts (trust but verify) about supposed voter fraud, if you listen to my legitimate concerns about making any "voter purge" of non-citizens be carried out ACCURATELY, TIMELY and LEGALLY.
You may not like it, but Obama is the President and Eric Holder is the Attorney General. Get over it.
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