Politics
Rep. Tom Rooney Disputes Eric Holder's 'Hogwash' on Vote 'Purging'
Around the State
U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney, R-Tequesta
Mainstream media reports parroting the Obama administration and Democratic Party operatives persist in branding the state's efforts as a "voter purge."
"That's absolute hogwash," said Rooney spokesman Michael Mahaffey.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and the Justice Department have claimed that a "90-day rule" bars Florida and all other states from "purging" rolls within three months of an election. Florida's primary election is set for Aug. 14.
But the 90-day rule does not shield cases of fraudulent registration.
"The 90-day rule in Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act does not apply to individuals who were ineligible at the time they registered. It applies to those who have changed their address," Mahaffey said.
"It explicitly does not apply to those being removed at the request of the registrant, by reason of criminal conviction or mental incapacity or death -- and, by Congressman Rooney’s reading, it certainly does not apply to individuals who were not eligible to begin with."
Florida officials have, since September 2011, been asking Washington for access to the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program to identify noncitizens.
Holder's DOJ has dragged its heels, refusing to share SAVE data with Florida and other states making similar requests. When Holder's stonewall was exposed in recent reports by Sunshine State News, Holder said the SAVE file didn't contain the necessary information.
But an earlier DOJ memorandum contradicted Holder's claim by saying states could use SAVE to compare voter registration rolls.
Florida officials also attempted to run Florida's voter registrations against the Department of Homeland Security's list of confirmed noncitizens. But to no avail.
"There's been no cooperation whatsoever," Mahaffey said Thursday.
Some counties, urged on by tea party groups, have begun cross-checking jury excusal cards with their local voter rolls. The process is labor-intensive and time-consuming, since many clerks of courts maintain paper records or cannot readily flag noncitizens.
In some counties, there are no records at all -- which leaves the matter to the local county commissions to straighten out.
One state-issued list shows 2,600 people who have raised "red flags," based on DMV records.
Liberal critics of Florida's investigation have long rejected the notion of rampant voter fraud.
The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, that produced the 2007 report, "The Truth About Voter Fraud," sorted through thousands of allegations going back to the 1990s.
"Usually, only a tiny portion of the claimed illegality is substantiated," the Brennan Center found, "and most of the remainder is either nothing more than speculation or has been conclusively debunked."
Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher and her Broward County counterpart -- both Democrats -- said recently that a state investigation could find just 18 cases of "real" election fraud in all of Florida.
But in Lee and Collier counties alone, records reveal that at least 46 noncitizens have cast ballots in local elections.
At the latest report, county officials in Florida had removed 43 noncitizens from voter lists.
That hardly constitutes a "purge," but Mahaffey says "43 is a big deal" in a tight swing state like Florida."
"Even if it's just one person who cancels out my vote, it's a felony," said Rooney, a former JAG lawyer for the Army.
Acknowledging that citizenship status can change, county officials say no alleged offenders are taken off the rolls before notification letters are sent out.
The Broward Republican Executive Committee said last month that a sampling of voter registration records found nearly one-quarter of the people listed on the county's election rolls are dead.
Broward REC officials cross-referenced the 2011 Social Security Death Index -- which listed 9,960 county residents as passing away during the year -- and checked 2,100 of these names against the list of registered voters on the supervisor of elections' website.
Some 481 names -- 23 percent -- of the deceased individuals remained listed as "active" voters according to the Broward records.
The sampling was conducted without regard to party registration, said Broward County Republican Chairman Richard DeNapoli.
The Broward REC said it was forwarding its evidence of deceased yet "active" voters "so that the Broward SOE has ample time to conduct a thorough investigation and remove the names of deceased voters from the registration rolls prior to the 2012 primary and general elections.
"All voters want a fair and honest election and we know that Broward SOE, Dr. Brenda C. Snipes, will correct this oversight. We hope to work with her on this endeavor," DeNapoli said in a statement.
On Friday, the League of Women Voters of Florida reminded residents that there are only 30 days left to register to vote in the Aug. 14 primary.
"Florida's primary election has never been held this early. Given the changes in the state's elections laws, the League encourages Florida voters to call their local supervisor of elections to check their voter registration status and, if necessary, update it," advised Charley Williams, LWVF Voter Services chair.
"This is particularly important for voters who have recently moved or changed their name."
Williams also had advice for remote voters ahead of the July 16 registration deadline.
"If you plan to vote by mail, call your supervisor to renew your vote-by-mail request and make sure your ballot arrives in time for the election," Williams said.
Meantime, Rooney threw down a challenge to Holder. In a letter to the attorney general, the Tequesta Republican lectured:
"It is time for you to end your blatant politicization of your position as attorney general and the Department of Justice as a whole."
Contact Kenric Ward at kward@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 801-5341.
Comments (8)
the stupid comment from one party. Get the facts before spewing the garbage, no one is ever turned away at the polls in Florida, I happen to work the polls here, and from your comment I assume you do not live here or have never voted in Florida.
Oh and now way can you ask for an ID before you are allowed to vote. I mean how would all the dead people get to vote if they had to produce an ID.
Before you go spouting that "no one is ever turned away at the polls in Florida" - answer me one question:
What happened to 1000's of legal voters (mostly African-American & Dedmocrats) who showed up in 2000 to vote and found they'd been purged from the voting rolls due to a flawed list used by the Republican state Secretary of State to purge those rolls?
THEY WERE DENIED THE RIGHT TO VOTE. If you doubt, go look it up.
That's why we even have a provisional ballot FOLLOWING THAT ELECTION. So I guess the mantra now is - oh, they'll just be inconvenienced and have to prove they're legal.
So how about this - no Republican can vote except by provisional ballot, then they can all come in later with proof that they're legal.
Squealing yet - of course you are - why should you have to go through that extra step. Proves my point - why should other (legal Hispanic) voters have to go through that step to be able to vote based on the state's use (once again) of a flawed list.
FYI - I've voted every election in Florida since 1972. You're not listening to legitimate concerns. Pathetic.
Has Florida previously used a flawed list to purge legal voters (mostly from one party) just prior to a Presidential election, resulting in those legal voters being turned away from the polls and not being allowed to vote?
And the answer is, Mr Rooney?
The answer, of course, is YES!
Mr. Rooney should know this well because the purge very likely help decide the 2000 Presidential election.
Just before the 2000 election, Katherine Harris ran a purge of mainly African Amerricans from a flawed list of felons that removed actual legal voters prior to the Presidential election who weren't allowed to vote in that close election. The number of removed legal voters has been confirmed to be at least in the 1000's and may have been as many as 50,000 (although this larger number is less likely).
So is there a very legitimate concern about this purging happening so close to another Presidential election in a very eerily similar manner. OF COURSE THERE IS A REAL CONCERN HERE, MR. ROONEY.
No one wants non-citizens voting, but it must done ACCURATELY, TIMELY AND LEGALLY. This current effort, as has been pointed out by Attorney General Holder and others is none of these.
Tom Rooney should be ashamed that he won't even address the legitimate concern that this is a flawed effort and similar to what happened in 2000.
To do otherwise is to make this into a highly partisan issue, which is exactly what he's doing.
SHAME, SHAME.
No one who is legality able to vote will be denied the ability to vote in this or any election. Is there a chance someone will have to prove they are legally allowed to vote? Absolutely, and that is true in all elections. That is the reason for the provisional ballot and it is a system that works.
My bet is that you actually believe that not only citizens but everyone has the "right" to vote. Wrong. Voting is a privilege not a right. A right cannot be taken away yet the privilege to vote can. Felons are a perfect example.
Once again, the federal government and Holder is preventing the State of Florida from using the "best data" available. Therefore, Florida is using the next best available data. It is the responsible thing to do.
Until you or any liberal can prove there is a provision for non citizens to vote you are on the losing side of this argument. Sorry but those are the facts.
If it's no hassle, you should all be willing to do it, correct?
Until you can prove the state is doing this based on an accurate, timely and legal list, you're on the losing side - if in doubt on that, just watch the courts.
You already lost on the 48-hour requirement that you all thought was fine, now you'll lose on violations of two federal laws.
Sorry, but those are the facts.
Governor Scott has not and is not removing voters from the voting rolls. He is asking that non citizens are removed and by law is required to make sure our voting rolls are free from non citizens voting.
The fact that the DOJ refuses to allow the state to use the SAVE records means the state of Florida must use the best available data to remove non citizens. Do these records have problems? Absolutely! Will there be legal voters removed? No, absolutely not!
You are on solid ground Governor.
Such solid ground that almost every local supervisor of elections has refused to carry out this flawed purge.
Such solid ground that the associated voter suppression law was declared unconstitutioal by the courts.
Such solid ground that DOJ and a number of citizen organizations have now sued the state over this purge.
Such solid ground that the liquefaction is already bubbling up.
Leave a Comment on This Story