Florida Officially Restarts Voter Purge, Revised List Still Appears To Be Inaccurate

Florida has officially restarted it’s controversial purge of registered voters less than 6 weeks before election day. Governor Scott’s intention to resume the effort, detailed in a PowerPoint presentation, was first reported by ThinkProgress.

Initially, Florida identified 180,000 potential non-citizens to be purged from the voter rolls. That list was subsequently narrowed down to 2600 “sure fire” non-citizens. When it became clear in early June that even the smaller list was riddled with errors, elections officials stopped the effort.

According to the Miami Herald, Florida has sent just 198 names to local election supervisors. (Of those, no more than 36 have ever cast a ballot.) But there is already evidence that the latest list still is not accurate. From the Herald:

For voters like Yeral Arroliga, it’s a pain. 

Arroliga, 25, who immigrated from Nicaragua in 1995, said he already sent his proof of citizenship earlier this summer under the first version of the purge program. He’s ready to do it again, after ending up on the new list. But he’s not happy about it. 

“It sounds like you have Big Brother watching over you,” he told The Herald. “I don’t know what’s going on.” 

Of this list of 198 potential non-citizens, about 58 percent are minority — 41 percent Hispanic and 17 percent black.

Multiple election officials have spoken out against the latest purge. Volusia County Supervisor of Elections Ann McFall, a Republican, told ThinkProgress “It just doesn’t help us whatsoever… It’s awful.”