Florida Gov Rick Scott looks ready for fight with DOJ over voter purge

[seafan]

Source: Tampa Bay Times

Gov. Rick Scott's administration is positioning itself for a showdown with the U.S. Department of Justice for demanding that Florida cease searching for and purging noncitizen voters.

The DOJ gave Florida until Wednesday to respond to a letter, sent last week, that said the purge probably ran afoul of two federal voting laws.
Florida will respond, but it probably won't quit its effort and will likely ask the DOJ to clarify its interpretation of the federal laws it cited.

.....

Cate would neither confirm nor deny what was in the state's response, but he acknowledged that the state disagrees with the federal government and doesn't plan to throw in the towel. "We know we've been acting responsibly," he said.

If Scott's administration stares down the DOJ, it will only heighten the partisan feud over the voter rolls in the nation's largest swing state.

Read more: http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/elections/article1233797.ece

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Yes, double down Mr. Scott.

Honor and respect for the people of Florida never crosses this criminal's mind.



Welcome to Florida, DOJ. It's been more than a decade since we've needed you here.

[seafan]

1. FL Attorney General Pam Bondi backs Rick Scott's voter purge; vows to continue it

AG Pam Bondi Promises Florida Will ‘Keep Fighting’ For Voter Purge

Reported by Ryan J. Reilly
Talking Points Memo

3:01 PM EDT, Tuesday June 5, 2012

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi told Fox News’ Megyn Kelly on Tuesday that the state would “keep fighting” for its right to purge noncitizens from the state’s voter rolls, even though the efforts have removed legitimate voters from the rolls.

“I think every American should find it very frustrating and troubling that don’t want to work with our state to insure that the proper people vote,” Bondi said.

The Justice Department told Florida last week that their voter list purge is illegal. Florida is supposed to respond by Wednesday.

Rick Scott and Pam Bondi
(Photo credit: Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel) Link


Rick Scott, Pam Bondi and House Speaker Dean Cannon)
(AP Photo/Steve Cannon) Link


Ms. Bondi seems confused about many things lately, but the one thing she seems focused on is doing what is wrong for Floridians and for democracy as it has existed since this county's founding.


Meanwhile, Floridians are waiting for foreclosure help and prosecution of those who perpetrated it, as Bondi refuses to prosecute and, instead, fires state lawyers working on the foreclosure fraud investigations;

Floridians are wondering whether they can afford contraceptives, now that Bondi is fighting against employer-based insurance coverage for contraceptives;

Floridians are watching Ms. Bondi team up with Marco Rubio in Washington, fighting Obama's health care legislation---


And today, she vows to push on with Rick Scott's illegal purge of voters from the rolls, in defiance of last week's warning from the Department of Justice that Scott is in violation of two federal voting rights acts.



Mr. Holder, send the U. S. Marshals.

[dtexdem]

2. How does this relate to all of the county election judges saying they will heed the DOJ?

I've seen nothing about that.

[seafan]

3. As long as all 67 elections supervisors refuse to continue the purge, Scott is stymied.

They are all independently elected in Florida.


Near the end of the article, there's this:

.....

If the state pushes ahead, its defiance or resistance might be more symbolic than actual.

The attempted purge has been put on hold in nearly all 67 counties after the DOJ demanded the effort cease. Also, the state-produced list of nearly 2,700 suspected noncitizen voters was generated with some outdated data, targeting hundreds of actual citizens who are lawful voters. So far, no one has been purged who has not admitted that he or she is a noncitizen.

Without the counties, the purge effort can't go on because the 67 independent supervisors are in charge of voter rolls in each of their counties.

What is also notable is that quite a few of these elections supervisors are Republican. They have been ticked off at Scott since he recently tried to create a "rating system" of all the 67 supervisors, to be published online, and pitting them against each other. Intimidation is not beneath Rick Scott, after he dumped thousands of names on an outdated list into their laps in the middle of election season and as they're dealing with redistricting changes on top of that.

(See this thread for info)


So, as long as the supervisors say NO to the purge, we'll see what else the bald-headed bully has up his sleeve. He is quite the little foot stomper.


Meanwhile, anytime the DOJ wants to come down and arrest him for violation of federal voting rights laws, that will be most welcome.


Something else interesting is that to comply with George W. Bush's 2002 Help America Vote Act, Florida started an electronic election registration database that was "supposed" to streamline the process of keeping up-to-date voter rolls. We were wondering what happened to that... if that system was doing what it was touted to do, why would Scott and the former Secretary of State Kurt Browning start secretly conspiring to purge voters so soon after Scott was sworn into office in January, 2011.


Oh, that's right... the new system was riddled with vulnerabilities...



Interesting times in Florida.