ACLU Urges County Elections Supervisors to Verify State’s Felon Matching Records to Prevent Wrongful Purging of Eligible Voters

For Immediate Release:
Friday, May 14, 2004

Media Contact: Alessandra Soler Meetze, Communications Director, (305) 576-2337, ext. 16

MIAMI – Saying Florida’s Division of Elections has embarked on an erroneous felon purge process that will inevitably lead to the disenfranchisement of eligible voters, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) today urged elections supervisors in all 67 Florida counties to independently verify the criminal records of people identified by the state as convicted felons before removing them from voter rolls.

“The right to vote in Florida once again at stake,” said Howard Simon, Executive Director of the ACLU of Florida, who co-authored the letter sent to 67 county elections supervisors with Courtney Strickland, Director of the ACLU of Florida’s Voting Rights Project.

“State election officials have admitted that they cannot guarantee the accuracy of the data used to purge more than 40,000 people from the voter rolls. Yet, state officials sent a memo to all county election supervisors instructing them to begin the felon purge process without also reminding county officials of their responsibility to ensure that the possible felons are, in fact, ineligible to vote.”

ACLU of Florida