BREAKING: DOJ to Florida ... Stop purging the voting lists ... MSNBC

[11 Bravo]

On edit: No doubt there will be more to come, but the DOJ has told the Florida Secretary of State that the voter purges which have been conducted are in violation of the Voting Rights Act. (Would it be really juvenile to insert "SUCK IT RICK!" at this point?)

[H2O Man]

1. Recommended!

Thanks.

[Greybnk48]

2. Just heard it on Big Eddie.

Thank goodness. He has to be stopped.

[annabanana]

3. Fan-friggen'-TAStic!

One of the very BEST things this DOJ has done in the last 3 1/2 years!

[Scuba]

4. Suck it Rick!

Makes me feel younger, yessir!

[Raster]

5. Too bad the DOJ couldn't have spoken up before 2000...

...the world may have been spared the horrors of cheney*/bush*.

[bluestateguy]

6. Good! But will this apply to the whole state?

The wikipedia article says that only 5 counties in Florida are covered under VRA? So does that allow the purge to continue in the other 62 counties?

[pacalo]

13. Apparently, all state voter maintenance requires DOJ's approval, which was not done by Florida.

DOJ also said that Florida’s voter roll purge violated the National Voter Registration Act, which stipulates that voter roll maintenance should have ceased 90 days before an election, which given Florida’s August 14 primary, meant May 16.

Five of Florida’s counties are subject to the Voting Rights Act, but the state never sought permission from either the Justice Department or a federal court to implement its voter roll maintenance program. Florida officials said they were trying to remove non-citizens from the voting rolls, but a flawed process led to several U.S. citizens being asked to prove their citizenship status or be kicked off the rolls.

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/05/justice_department_demands_florida_stop_purging_voter_rolls.php

[WillyT]

7. HUGE K & R !!!

[Rosa Luxemburg]

8. Sweet!

[Canuckistanian]

9. Good!

Excellent to see Voting Rights Act violations being prosecuted, rather than letting these bizzare "Voter Fraud" statutes being enforced without legal action.

This may be the ultimate test of so-called "State's Rights" in regards to federal voting standards. At least I hope it will.

It should never have gone this far in the first place.

[robinlynne]

50. I don't see the word prosecution mentioned anywhere.....

[Liberal_Dog]

10. K & R

[Hutzpa]

11. kick!

[tosh]

12. K&R!!!

[ananda]

14. And about time!

nt

[awoke_in_2003]

29. +1. nt

[Tennessee Gal]

15. LINK HERE:

The Justice Department sent a letter to Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner Thursday evening demanding the state cease purging its voting rolls because the process it is using has not been cleared under the Voting Rights Act, TPM has learned.

DOJ also said that Florida’s voter roll purge violated the National Voter Registration Act, which stipulates that voter roll maintenance should have ceased 90 days before an election, which given Florida’s August 14 primary, meant May 16.

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/05/justice_department_demands_florida_stop_purging_voter_rolls.php

[spanone]

16. k&r...

[cindyperry2010]

17. about f ing time

[sellitman]

18. Best news in awhile

Now how do they enforce it?

[rppper]

19. Prayers do get answered....

Thank you lord....thank you DOJ....

From Florida btw!

[DLevine]

20. K&R. n/t

[rosesaylavee]

21. About time!

[rhett o rick]

22. Brave DoJ keep it up. nm

[babylonsister]

23. Kick, Recommend, FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!! nt

[sakabatou]

24. How long will it take to restore the list?

[Gregorian]

25. It's about time we stood up. Get on with it!

While you're at it, let's get rid of electronic voting machines too.

[solara]

26. YAY!! Excellent news!!

Kickety

[SunSeeker]

27. Yay +1!

[Snarkoleptic]

28. Saw that on Rachel.

This whole republiclown dirty trick, ALEC, Koch brothers thing has had so much momentum that it's nice to see parts of their plan derail.

[burrowowl]

30. About time!

[MNBrewer]

31. I hope the letter is strongly worded

[LynneSin]

32. I have never seen anything so blatantly obvious in purging voters that could vote against the GOP

It's almost like Rick Scott KNOWS he's violating the rights of these legal voters and doesn't give a rats ass.

Thank goodness the DOJ stepped in to do something!

[ProfessionalLeftist]

33. Well now. To all those who said . . .

"well good luck with that!", and "it'll do no good!", and who basically poo-poohed the idea when I suggested everyone should email the DOJ:



Neener. Neener.

Of course that may not be why they finally did something, but at least it didn't hurt.

[Left Coast2020]

34. Well, at least it shows the DOJ is not sleeping at their desks.

Good Grief. Now hopefully some action instead of just words. And while their at it, they can shut down the Mich. Gov and his BS nazi tactics.

[lonestarnot]

35. K & R

[AllyCat]

36. K/R

[Overseas]

37. K&R. Yes please!

[suffragette]

38. K&R

[libodem]

39. Oh hell yes!

[Marrah_G]

40. That is great news.

[Scurrilous]

41. K & R

[Bluenorthwest]

42. System will not allow me to Rec, so I'll kick....

good news...

[malthaussen]

43. It would be extremely juvenile.

Hooray for juveniles!

This is excellent news for many reasons. For once, the DoJ is doing something I can actually support.

-- Mal

[MADem]

44. This is fantastic--now, will they undo the harm they've already done? nt

[stillwaiting]

45. +1. nt

[malthaussen]

47. Good question. Here's another one:

Is their objection on grounds of principle, or on grounds of procedure? Are they really making a stand against disenfranchisement, or are they just in a snit because the State of Florida didn't cross all the "ts" and dot all the "is?" I wonder this about quite a few of the Executive's actions: for whatever reason, they seem to always couch their objections in ambiguous terms. Maybe I'm too cynical.

-- Mal

[MADem]

48. Well, they can't appear to be partisan. Their perspective should be that of

upholding the law of the land and nothing beyond that. I honestly don't care why they're doing it, so long as they are doing it!

[malthaussen]

49. Pretty much the same feeling I have, except

... if the objection is procedural, then once FLA smooths the ruffled feathers, they can go right on disenfranchising voters.

-- Mal

[MADem]

59. Maybe not, though. It could be procedural AND have a basis in voting rights, as well.

I'm going to be doggedly optimistic about this news and hope for the best!!

[malthaussen]

60. We won't have too long to wait, anyway

The letter requires an answer by 6 June. After that... we shall see.

D Day? Is there some irony here? Why yes, I believe there is!

-- Mal

[MADem]

61. You're right! D Day!

Hope that means it's a good day for Dems!

[robinlynne]

51. not only that, it was clear that only 5 counties have the right to the voter protection act. The oth

other counties are fair game.....So that means all states can just pick which counties to purge in in the future and pay no consequences.....

in addition it looks like nothing is to stop the counties from doing the same purge, which has been common practice since at least 2000 all over the country.

[malthaussen]

52. No, there are two charges:

Violation of section 5, Voting Rights Act 42 USC 1973c. That applies to the "five counties" you mention.
Second charge is violation of Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, 42 USC 1973gg-1973gg10. That applies to the whole state of Florida.

-- Mal

[robinlynne]

62. which is only about the date. It needs to be 90 days before an election and there is a primary in

August. So that is a technicality. If they did the exact same thing within the date deadlines, it would be legal.
see the problem?

[malthaussen]

63. Read further

Sec 8(b)(1) is referenced, which requires that the State's actions be "uniform, nondiscriminatory, and in compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965."

-- Mal

[robinlynne]

64. what is not in compliance with the voting rights act is the date. only. 90 days before an election

[malthaussen]

65. You're right on that.

Might be a case of "any triviality in a storm," might just be bureaucratic ruffled feathers. DoJ can show non-compliance on the 90-day rule, showing non-compliance on the others would be trickier. In support of the "it's only procedural" argument is the fact that the DoJ hasn't called any other states into account as yet, just FLA. And as we know from another thread, they only contacted FLA because DU's Cali wrote them a stern e-mail.

-- Mal

[robinlynne]

67. the Dems just don't care about election fraud. which means they don't really care about democracy.

Over and over again instead of cleaning up the elections, which would automatically give the Dems more seats in congress, they spend more money to get out the vote instead. get enough votes to win, no matter the process itself.

We see this repeatedly on the national level and on a local level.

[malthaussen]

68. More than that.

It has struck me before, as it strikes me now, that politicians and political junkies in general are rarely interested in fundamental issues. Exceptions apply. Even our "Constitutional Scholar" President seems to be more interested in devising ways to circumscribe the Constitution than uphold it. It's not like fundamental issues are more complicated than the superficial ones that draw all the attention -- quite the reverse. It's hard not to draw the conclusion that the politicians like the broken machine just fine the way it is.

-- Mal

[robinlynne]

69. Thank-you!!!!! +1.

[frylock]

46. knr

[1StrongBlackMan]

53. I want ...

a criminal investigation of ALEC and the gop. It strains all credulity that eight swing states, all headed by gop governors, would embark on voter surpression activities, all during the same time frame, all on their own initiative.

If violation of the Voter Rights Act is a criminal act; then, the above is pretty much the definition of a criminal conspiracy.

Start by investigating Rick and threaten to send him to prison for life; then watch as he names names.

[Dont call me Shirley]

58. I beleive RICO laws could and should be applied to ALEC.

[malthaussen]

54. LINK TO THE LETTER

http://www.scribd.com/doc/95500652/TPM-Docs-DOJ-Demands-Florida-Stop-Voter-Purge

Of course it is legalese, but the gist would appear to be that the DoJ is concerned over two possible violations of the US code, one in reference to the five FLA counties subject to Section 5, Voting Rights Act, 42 USC 1973c, the other covering the whole state of FLA, Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, 42 USC 1973gg-gg10. The letter requires FLA to advise what action they are going to take in regards to these possible violations so that the DoJ may "determine what future action, if any, is necessary."

-- Mal

[hwmnbn]

55. K&R

[DonCoquixote]

56. Hey Eric holder

If you want to keep your job, keep this up, keep your foot on the floor, and run the hell over ANYONE, and I do mean ANYONE, that tries to tell you to swerve right.

[HeiressofBickworth]

57. Or WHAT?

Hey DOJ, so far I'm not impressed with your prosecutorial efforts. So, what, if anything are you planning to DO if these efforts in Florida don't stop. With the timid response that has been forthcoming on previous issues, if any response at all, it will be NEXT June before any action is taken by the DOJ. Holder is the absolute WORST AG that has ever been appointed. This letter is nothing more than a fart in a hurricane.

[malthaussen]

66. Well, the other shoe has dropped already...

Florida is refusing compliance. Over to you, DoJ.

-- Mal