Florida and fair elections: failure is not an option

Florida is on the frontlines of the national election, and the Florida Interstate-4 corridor is a big part of that story. One of the newest stories to emerge this year is the announcement by Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner about intentions to continue the systematic purging of voters from Florida's voter rolls, despite the proximity of the Aug. 14 primary and Nov. 6 general elections.

Are Florida's purges within 90 days of a federal election endangering eligible voters? The League of Women Voters says, emphatically, yes. Recent headlines highlighting eligible voters who have received warning letters from the state requiring them to prove their citizenship in order to stay on the rolls show that the state's actions have put eligible citizens' democratic rights at risk.

The most recent admission by Secretary Detzner that the lists most recently provided to Florida's Supervisors of Elections were based on 'obsolete' and 'outdated' information is part of a pattern in Florida that has had the impact of unlawfully disenfranchising, in some cases, thousands of eligible voters.

Now, with less than 30 days until the primary election, the League has asked Secretary Detzner and Gov. Rick Scott to safeguard the voting process by taking the following steps:

1) Make a public commitment to conduct list maintenance transparently, accurately and far enough in advance of an election to ensure that eligible voters are not wrongly removed without time to correct errors.

2) Ensure that only accurate information is used to conduct list maintenance, rather than relying on questionable data matching.

3) Comply with the federal Voting Rights Act to ensure non-discrimination, as well as the National Voter Registration Act to ensure accuracy and fair treatment of eligible voters.

The League has doubts about the accuracy and reliability of the federal data match that the state is planning to undertake, and we are calling on Florida's leaders to ensure that eligible voters are not removed erroneously from the rolls.

The League believes that accurate, up-to-date voter lists are critical. We salute the work that Florida's 67 Supervisors of Elections do every day, as they and their staff carefully and deliberately maintain a voter database of more than 11 million Florida citizens.

Purges based on inaccurate information are unacceptable and put Florida's eligible voters, like the World War II veterans and small business owners we have all read about, at risk. Hasty and rushed efforts to purge voters have been shown this year— and in previous elections— to endanger the status of everyday eligible Floridians.

The League asks: Is your registration up to date? Avoid problems, and get informed. Visit BeReadyToVote.org

Deirdre Macnab is the state president for the League of Women Voters of Florida, a nonpartisan political organization that encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy. For more information, visit TheFloridaVoter.org