Federal judge refuses to stop Florida voter purge

A voter arrives at a polling station on primary day on January 31, 2012, in Tampa, Florida. Getty Images

(CBS/AP) TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - A federal judge has refused to stop Florida from removing potentially non-U.S. citizens from its voter rolls.




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Florida Governor Rick Scott
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Florida identified an initial list of 2,600 potential non-citizens based on a cross-search of data from the Florida Department of Elections and the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Voters were to be notified by letter that they had been identified as potentially ineligible to vote, and had thirty days upon receipt of the letter to provide documentation of their citizenship or face removal from the polls.

But the database relies on some outdated driver's license information, and a number of the people on the list of possible non-citizens have since proven their citizenship, according to the state's election department. Opponents of the purge argue that the efforts disproportionately targeted Latinos and Democrats.

Despite the public sparring between the DOJ and Florida officials, most county election officialshad already opted not to continue with the process, which they are able to do given the guidelines of the state process. At least one county, however, said it was proceeding with the identification and purge of non-citizens.