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Associated
Press
May 5, 2004
Florida to
Purge Felons From Voter Lists
(AP)
Florida has ordered a statewide purge of freed
felons from its voter roles, an election-year
directive that some say would disenfranchise up to
40,000 people.
Lt. Gov. Toni Jennings said Thursday that Gov. Jeb
Bush's administration was simply complying with
federal election law, and the secretary of state's
office said safeguards were in place to prevent
targeting the wrong people.
The issue of felon voting surfaced from Florida's 2000
presidential recount that resulted in George W. Bush
capturing the White House. The governor's older
brother won Florida's pivotal 25 electoral votes by
537 votes out of more than 6 million cast.
Critics said Florida used out-of-state lists in 2000
to purge freed felons, taking their voting rights away
although they had been restored in the state where
their crimes were committed.
Florida is among a handful of states that does not
automatically restore the voting rights of convicted
criminals once they leave prison.
Others complained they were erroneously purged from
the rolls because their name was identical or similar
to that of a felon. Critics said blacks, who as a
group voted more heavily for Democrat Al Gore, were
disproportionately affected.
Since the 2000 election, the secretary of state's
office has been moved from Cabinet status in Florida
to an agency under the Republican governor. The
secretary of state's office on Thursday defended its
actions. Jenny Nash, spokeswoman for Secretary of
State Glenda Hood, said the purge was mandated by law,
and that the current list of possible felons was
approved by the U.S. Department of Justice and the
National Association for the Advancement of Colored
People, which sued the state over the list used in
2000.
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