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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsMeet Maureen Russo: An Eligible Florida Voter Governor Rick Scott Just Purged From The Voting Rolls
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/05/25/490678/eligible-florida-voter-governor-rick-scott-purged/Meet Maureen Russo: An Eligible Florida Voter Governor Rick Scott Just Purged From The Voting Rolls
By Judd Legum on May 25, 2012 at 1:55 pm
Maureen Russo was born in Akron, Ohio. For the last 40 years shes operated a dog boarding and grooming business Bobbis World Kennels with her husband in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Maureen is 60 years old and has been a registered voter in the state for the last four decades. She regularly votes at the church around the corner from her home.
Two weeks ago she received a letter from the State of Florida informing her that that had received information that she was not born in this country and, therefore, was ineligible to vote.
She was given an option to request an administrative hearing to present evidence disputing the determination of the State of Florida that she was ineligible to vote. Unless Maureen returned a form requesting such a hearing within 30 days, she was told, it would result in the removal of your name from the voter registration rolls.
She immediately sent off a registered letter to the State with a copy of her passport. She hasnt heard anything back.
Its unclear precisely how Maureen was identified by the state as an ineligible voter.
snip//
It is unclear what legitimate purpose Gov. Scott has to move forward with the voting purge in the face of multiple documented errors. Florida has no history of mass voter fraud. It does have a history, however, of mass voter disenfranchisement. By one estimate, 7000 Florida voters were wrongfully removed from the voter rolls for the 2000 presidential election 13 times George W. Bushs margin of victory in that state after the Supreme Court halted the post-election recount.
nadinbrzezinski
(154,021 posts)It's almost as bad as voting while black.
Scurrilous
(38,687 posts)And it has begun.
asjr
(10,479 posts)voting machine.
INdemo
(6,994 posts)really isnt so Repukes can destroy votes like Florida in 2000 and Ohio in 2004..What I just dont understand is that in 2004 exit pllling according to the corpoate media didnt mean anything but yet in this years election as well as the 2010 election races were called by reason of exit polling...Yes if its close the Repukes will sure as hell try and steal it but this time we need to take to the streets if they try it...
kestrel91316
(51,666 posts)mitchtv
(17,718 posts)her answer and passport copy will be ignored and she will not hear from them, then when she gets to the polling place, she'll get a 'provisional' ballot, and on and on til she tires of trying. most will give up at step one.
GarroHorus
(1,055 posts)Seriously, this is what that sort of madness has wrought.
babylonsister
(170,962 posts)who has the cojones to stop the madness?
And welcome to DU!
freshwest
(53,661 posts)All during the Bush reign of terror on Americans. They learned well and only, only massive turnout to overcome the fraud will get any Democrats elected. Period. Palast said that in 2004 and the party couldn't get the voters inspired by Kerry enough.
It was the great outpouring of over 67 million voters that overcame the chicanery in 2008 for Obama. Then O'Keefe and the rest of the GOP crooks did their number on ACORN to disenfranchise voters, and even since that time, and have not done a day in jail for his continuing frauds and breaking the terms of his liberty. Tom Delay was found guilty for only part of what he did, and is not serving time.
They will do it with their Teabagger terrorism, to scare good candidates out of office, to intimidate anyone who attempts to have a lawful recall or election that is not for the GOP fascists, and they will do it from now until hell freezes over. GOTV!
Ilsa
(61,675 posts)Good God, losing your right to vote because some anonymous troublemaker lies about where you were born? Is this the U.S?
babylonsister
(170,962 posts)SunSeeker
(51,367 posts)How can it be up to her to prove she is not ineligible? Doesn't the government have the burden to prove ineligibility? In other words, once a person has the right to vote, doesn't the government have to prove she isn't born in the U.S. to take away her right to vote? This crap about her having to submit evidence turns the presumption of innocence on its head. And she should not have to request a hearing--a hearing should be required before such a fundamental right is taken away. This is insane. Where is the FBI on this? She better have sent this to Holder!
creeksneakers2
(7,468 posts)Florida provides driver's licenses to persons who are not citizens but in the country legally. Non-citizen applicants must declare their citizenship status and that status is listed on the licenses. Florida is comparing a list of all non-citizen licenses with the voter registration rolls. Comparing lists led to thousands of false matches in 2000 and that's probably what happened to this poor woman.
rhett o rick
(55,981 posts)lpbk2713
(42,696 posts)Link: http://www.theledger.com/article/20120525/POLITICS/120529540/1410?Title=Voter-Purge-List-Appears-Flawed
The Lakeland Florida Ledger reported that at least nine of the twenty-one voters purged had citizen status. The remaining twelve are being looked into. The criteria used for the purge by Scott's office appears to be their Hispanic names according to the article.
From Page 3 of the article ... Scott has come under criticism from Democrats and a coalition of voting-rights groups who have asked him to stop the statewide effort to purge voting rolls.
One criticism is that it's mostly Democrats who are the target of the purge. Other election supervisors have pointed inaccuracies in lists sent to them, and some have balked at acting on the information provided by the state.
pampango
(24,692 posts)Democratic voters from the voting rolls.
If you whip up enough hysteria about the possibility of an "illegal immigrant" voting (though I doubt republicans can point to even a single instance of that actually happening), you can get away with disenfranchising a lot of Democratic voters without much of a stink.
Can't say those republicans aren't smart about how they cheat.
spiderpig
(10,419 posts)This thing makes my brain hurt.
The Repukes will stop at nothing, and it was time for gloves off a long time ago. Dems - get a clue.
sulphurdunn
(6,891 posts)of proof rest upon the state? The truth is that disenfranchising citizens is easy, will change the vote and have no adverse consequences for those responsible. Katherine Harris proved that. Investigations into voter disenfranchisement after the fact are mere prologue for the next crime.
glinda
(14,807 posts)get off their arsses and sign an emergency bill overturning this crap.
Thinkingabout
(30,058 posts)For starters, employers are required to do so. Did her spouse receive a letter? With all the data base programs available and Scott does not use them. I have heard enough of repubs crying voter fraud and his actions show voter fraud by and for repubs. I don't know if there is a provisional ballot in Florida but it should be and Democrats we have to vote and enough to get this country back to sanity.
gulliver
(13,142 posts)She should get a lawyer and try to find out.
Iliyah
(25,111 posts)are they purging Cuban voters as well? I figuered they would be purging Dem voters, which should look pretty obvious. Like I said before the GOP are paranoid. They know they will not win in November and are pulling everything they can with the blessings of the Christian right.
Swede Atlanta
(3,596 posts)This governor needs to be put on one of those commercial supply launches to the space station but have it go just a bit off course out to space forever.
By the time there would be any court challenge to these purges RMoney will be screwing the American people even more than they are now, starting 2 or 3 new wars and riding up and down in his car elevator for fun.
This must be stopped now.....are there civil and voting rights attorneys engaged on this yet? If not we need to get them on this NOW.
SGMRTDARMY
(599 posts)and why is there a purge of eligible voters? Could it be, wait for it, a repig effort to steal the states electoral votes and deny Obama a FL win?