Florida Gov. Rick Scott's voter purge violated federal law, court rules

Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s administration was found by a federal appeals court Tuesday to have violated federal law with its 2012 voter purge, an attempt to remove non-citizens from voter rolls just prior to the presidential election.

In June of 2012, just prior to August’s statewide primary election, Scott’s Administration attempted to purge the voter rolls of non-citizens through a comparison of the rolls with state and federal databases. But according to federal law, any systematic removal of voters less than 90 days prior to an election is prohibited.

Though the point is moot now, the panel of three judges said they ruled on the case to prevent Scott’s administration from undertaking any future purge efforts, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

Deirdre Macnab, president of the League of Women Voters of Florida, told the paper, "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."

[Tampa Bay Times]