October 18, 2012
Washington, DC – Concerned that the state of Florida’s program to remove alleged non-citizens from the voter rolls could wrongfully remove eligible citizens, two voters on that list and a coalition of voting rights groups—including the Project Vote, Advancement Project, Fair Elections Legal Network, LatinoJustice PRLDEF and SEIU Local 1199—filed a motion earlier this month for a preliminary injunction to halt the program. The District Court denied that motion, and the rights groups appealed.
On October 16, Judge Rosemary Barkett, Circuit Judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, declined to expedite the appeal, stating that she was relying on Secretary of State Detzner’s assurance, which she quoted in the order, that “there is no chance that a citizen will be erroneously removed from the voter rolls before Election Day.”
“We’re very gratified that, in the State’s own words, there is ‘no chance’ eligible citizens will be removed before the election,” said Catherine M. Flanagan, Director of Election Administration for Project Vote. “The 11th Circuit relied on this representation when it decided not to speed up the appeal process, and we hold the State to its word that eligible Florida voters no longer face the possibility of being erroneously purged this close the election.”
In September, the State agreed to a settlement requiring it to instruct supervisors of elections to send letters to the thousands of citizens that were incorrectly sent the original purge letter and inform them that they have not been removed from the voter rolls and remain registered to vote. The Department of State also agreed to reinstate voters who were inappropriately removed from the rolls and to instruct supervisors of elections not to force voters to use a provisional ballot based on their appearance on the purge list. Now, the state is assuring the appeals court that no additional citizens will be wrongfully removed from the rolls before Election Day.
“This lawsuit was filed to protect the right to vote of eligible Florida citizens. We are pleased that the Secretary of State has assured the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals that no U.S. citizens who have been misidentified will be removed from the voter rolls before the November election,” said Ben Hovland Senior Counsel with the Fair Elections Legal Network. “We have always recognized the state’s responsibility to maintain accurate rolls. At issue is whether or not the state is performing that duty correctly and lawfully.”
“We’ve tirelessly fought to ensure that all Florida eligible voters can vote in this election without being the target of a last-minute discriminatory purge. We are now heartened that the Secretary of State has promised that there will be no chance that a citizen will be removed from the voter rolls under the purge program before the November 6 election,” stated Juan Cartagena, LatinoJustice PRLDEF’s President & General Counsel.
“We certainly hope that Florida respects the judge’s order based on settlement of our discrimination claim made on behalf of thousands of voters of color whose rights were violated by the prior purge list,” said Katherine Culliton-Gonzalez, director of Advancement Project’s Voter Protection Program. “We appreciate their commitment not to risk removing citizens so close to the upcoming election.”