The decision by a three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta invalidated efforts by the Department of State to identify and remove non-citizens from the voter rolls in advance of an election in which a Florida victory was crucial to President Barack Obama’s re-election.
Federal law prohibits states from “systematic” removals of voters less than 90 days before a federal primary or general election.
Judges said they ruled in a case that might otherwise be moot to prevent Scott’s administration from undertaking a future purge effort.
“This is a big win for Florida voters and a significant victory for good election administration practices,” said Deirdre Macnab, president of the League of Women Voters of Florida, which joined the case on the plaintiffs’ side. “Systematic computer purges are often wrong so they shouldn’t come just before an election, when the voter can’t get it corrected. ... This is a precedent-setting case that upholds a key protection for voters.”
The 2-1 decision was written by Judge Beverly Martin and joined by Judge Adalberto Jordan, who was born in Cuba and is a University of Miami law school graduate and a former assistant U.S. attorney in Miami. Judge Richard Suhrheinrich dissented.
Scott’s chief elections official, Secretary of State Ken Detzner, issued a terse five-word statement through a spokeswoman: “We are reviewing the decision.”
The state could ask for a rehearing before the full 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Last week, Detzner abandoned efforts to scrub the voter rolls of non-citizens in advance of the 2014 election in the face of overwhelming opposition from elected supervisors of elections. He had labeled the program “Project Integrity.”
