Florida’s attorney general said Tuesday there is “no excuse” for the state’s failure to purge tens of thousands of convicted felons from the voter rolls in time for Election Day. “I cannot imagine why, in this day and age of modern technology…that we can’t get it right,” Bill McCollum said. He commented after a morning Cabinet meeting that focused on Florida’s preparedness for Nov. 4. A Sun Sentinel investigation published Sunday found more than 30,000 felons don’t have the right to vote, but remain on Florida’s voter registration rolls.
The newspaper compared state databases listing registered voters, convicted felons and felons who have been granted clemency, which restores their right to vote. The findings could pose legal problems for Florida, which is once again under scrutiny in a close presidential race. State officials noted that the campaigns are “trucking in attorneys” to pounce on any problems. Secretary of State Kurt Browning said the state has yet to review more than 108,000 names of voters registered since 2006 who may be felons, saying that the process is “very meticulous and time consuming.” The Elections Division relies on a handful of workers to review each felon case individually, matching signatures and photographs, obtaining official court documents and combing clemency files before taking action.
Link: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-flfelonvoters1015sboct15,0,4706356.story