July 10, 2004
Purge problems persist
Now, keep in mind the fact that Hispanic voters in Florida typically vote overwhelmingly Republican. And we already know that black voters tend to vote for Democrats. We learned that in 2000 when thousands of black voters were improperly prohibited from voting.
The state’s infamous voter purge list, designed to remove registered voters from the rolls so that no ex-felons can sneak in and vote on election day, has about 47,000 names on it. Almost half, 22,000, are names of black voters, mostly Democrats, despite the fact that black folks make up only 11 percent of Florida’s population.
About 8 percent of Florida’s citizens are Hispanic. The list of 47,000 contains exactly 61 Hispanic voters. That’s 61. Not 61 percent. Just 61, out of a database of over 47,000.
Just to be clear about this, black people who tend to be Democrats: 22,000; Hispanic folks, who tend to vote Republican: 61.
Jeb! says this is all an innocent mistake. Funny how these mistakes always seem to favor Rupublicans, eh?
Florida election officials used a flawed method to come up with a listing of people believed to be convicted felons, a list that they are recommending be used to purge voter registration rolls, state officials acknowledged yesterday. As a result, voters identifying themselves as Hispanic are almost completely absent from that list. Of nearly 48,000 Florida residents on the felon list, only 61 are Hispanic. By contrast, more than 22,000 are African-American.About 8 percent of Florida voters describe themselves as Hispanic, and about 11 percent as black.
In a presidential-election battleground state that decided the 2000 race by giving George W. Bush a margin of only 537 votes, the effect could be significant: black voters are overwhelmingly Democratic, while Hispanics in Florida tend to vote Republican.
Elections officials of Florida's Republican administration denied any partisan motive in use of the method they adopted, and noted that it had been approved as part of a settlement of a civil rights lawsuit.
"This was absolutely unintentional," said Nicole de Lara, spokeswoman for the Florida secretary of state, Glenda E. Hood, an appointee of Gov. Jeb Bush, the president's brother. "The matching criteria were approved by several interested parties in the lawsuit, and the court. I don't know how it got by all those people without anyone noticing."
It’s time to throw this list out. Just get rid of it. Call your county supervisor of elections and demand that the list not be used. Call now Monday. They don’t answer the phones on weekends.
Hillsborough County: 813-272-5850 or voter@hillsboroughcounty.org
Other Florida Counties: use the Florida Voter Assistance Hotline (I don’t know if they will help Democrats at this number): 866-308-6739
Background on Florida’s voter purge list is right here.
Are you on the list? Check here.
Work the polls on election day.
Coming soon: a handy time line that makes it easy to follow the follies of the infamous Florida voter purge list. Stay tuned!
Posted by Norwood at July 10, 2004 09:00 AM