DOJ To Florida: Stop Voter Purge NOW

The Department of Justice has ordered Florida Gov. Rick Scott to immediately cease his campaign to purge legal citizens from the list of eligible voters.

DOJ also said that Florida’s voter roll purge violated the National Voter Registration Act, which stipulates that voter roll maintenance should have ceased 90 days before an election, which given Florida’s August 14 primary, meant May 16. Five of Florida’s counties are subject to the Voting Rights Act, but the state never sought permission from either the Justice Department or a federal court to implement its voter roll maintenance program. Florida officials said they were trying to remove non-citizens from the voting rolls, but a flawed process led to several U.S. citizens being asked to prove their citizenship status or be kicked off the rolls.

The DOJ's letter to Florida's secretary of state warns of "further action" should the campaign not end at once.