(Reuters) – Florida, a key US electoral battleground where the 2000 presidential election was decided by a few hundred ballots, will decide in the coming days whether to heed a US Justice Department warning to stop its campaign to purge ineligible voters, a state spokesman said yesterday.
The warning issued this week by the head of the Justice Department’s voting section said the effort appeared to violate the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which protects minorities. It demanded a response by Wednesday.
A spokesman for Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner said the state must make certain that only eligible voters cast ballots.
“We have a year-round obligation to ensure the integrity of Florida’s elections. We will be responding to (the Justice Department’s) concerns next week,” Chris Cate said in an email message.
Cate said in a subsequent telephone call that the state was still formulating its response.
Polls show Florida will be closely contested between Democratic President Barack Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and the outcome could swing the Nov. 6 election.
A mere 537 Florida votes decided the 2000 election in favor of Republican George W. Bush over Democrat Al Gore, amid charges from both sides that some people were unable to vote, some votes were uncounted, or were counted incorrectly.
The US Supreme Court ultimately decided the contest in a ruling that halted the recount process.
Supporters of Florida’s voter scrub, conducted by the administration of Republican Governor Rick Scott, say it is aimed at clearing voter registration rolls of non-citizens. But critics call it part of longstanding Republican efforts to deter minorities and the poor, who tend to vote Democratic, from casting ballots.
