Gov. Rick Scott makes the media rounds to defend purge and lawsuit
In a series of back to back interviews on
morning cable news and radio drive time stations today, Florida Gov.
Rick Scott defended his decision to sue the federal government Monday
for failing to provide access to the federal immigration database that
could help the state sort out which voters on its rolls are not
citizens.
"Look, the debate's over. We know we have almost 100 individuals that are registered to vote that are non U.S. citizens. Over 50 of them have voted in our elections. I have an obligation to enforce the laws of our land. You don't get to vote in Florida if you are a non U.S. citizen,'' he told CNN anchor Christine Romans on the morning show Starting Points.
"The Homeland Security has been stonewalling to give us the database we're entitled to. We have been asking for months -- make sure we do it the right way -- so we are put in a position where we had no choice but to sue Homeland Security to get that database to make sure your right as a citizen is not diluted by somebody that's a non U.S. citizen illegally voting in our state."
"Look, the debate's over. We know we have almost 100 individuals that are registered to vote that are non U.S. citizens. Over 50 of them have voted in our elections. I have an obligation to enforce the laws of our land. You don't get to vote in Florida if you are a non U.S. citizen,'' he told CNN anchor Christine Romans on the morning show Starting Points.
"The Homeland Security has been stonewalling to give us the database we're entitled to. We have been asking for months -- make sure we do it the right way -- so we are put in a position where we had no choice but to sue Homeland Security to get that database to make sure your right as a citizen is not diluted by somebody that's a non U.S. citizen illegally voting in our state."
Romans then pressed him. She said the federal government says the state
cannot "infringe on the rights of a citizen's right to vote" by going
after non citizens. She noted that the federal government has said it is
prepared to give the state access to the database when it provides the
necessary immigration information, which the state has failed to
provide.
Scott avoided an answer. "Christine, here's what we know. We know
that individuals are voting in our state illegally. They're not U.S.
citizens. We know the best database is the SAVE database. We've asked
for it for months from Homeland Security. We want to work with Homeland
Security to get it. So we've done all the right things. We are put in a
position where we don't have a choice but to sue them to get the
database that we're entited to to make sure U.S. citizens votes are not
diluted."
Romans: "Are you purging your voter rolls right now?"
Scott: "No. Here's the way the process works. If there's critical evidence that somebody is registered to vote that's not they get sent a letter. They get 30 days to respond. They respond. If they don't respond they get taken off the rolls but if they show up to vote, they get to vote provisionally."
When Romans pressed the point about the state faiing to provide the information necessary to access the SAVE database, Scott said: "We've done everything the right way. For whatever reason, they've decided not to give it to us...We were put in a position where we didn't have any choice."
He denied the purge is an attempt to remove Democratic voters.
"This is not a partisan issue,'' Scott said. "This is an issue I want, all of us want, to have every U.S citizen to participate to vote...but not U.S. citizens. That's illegal."
Romans: "Are you purging your voter rolls right now?"
Scott: "No. Here's the way the process works. If there's critical evidence that somebody is registered to vote that's not they get sent a letter. They get 30 days to respond. They respond. If they don't respond they get taken off the rolls but if they show up to vote, they get to vote provisionally."
When Romans pressed the point about the state faiing to provide the information necessary to access the SAVE database, Scott said: "We've done everything the right way. For whatever reason, they've decided not to give it to us...We were put in a position where we didn't have any choice."
He denied the purge is an attempt to remove Democratic voters.
"This is not a partisan issue,'' Scott said. "This is an issue I want, all of us want, to have every U.S citizen to participate to vote...but not U.S. citizens. That's illegal."
Rep. Rooney to DOJ: Why are you allowing potential voter fraud?
A letter from Rep. Tom Rooney to U.S.
Attorney General Eric Holder over his agency's decision to fight
Florida's noncitizen voter purge:
Florida has uncovered a widespread problem of illegal and erroneous
voter registration, exposing as many as 182,000 registered voters as
non-U.S. citizens. The Department of Justice has an obligation to work
with the state to prevent voter fraud and ensure that illegal votes are
not cast, yet your department has consistently obstructed Florida’s
efforts and has been either unresponsive or outright hostile to
legitimate requests for information.
Your department has now directed the state of Florida to stop
removing non-citizen voters from registration rolls. This direction is
not only groundless, it stands in stark contrast to federal laws
directing states to coordinate voter registration records and ensure
their accuracy. Your actions further demonstrate that the Department of
Justice, under your leadership, is more concerned with protecting the
reelection prospects of the President than with upholding justice and
enforcing the rule of law.
The Help America Vote Act of 2002 explicitly directs states to ensure that voter registration records are accurate by coordinating them “with other databases within the State.” Florida has complied with that law by checking registration records against driver’s license records. Your department now claims that this procedure required pre-approval under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. That claim is simply untrue.
Section 5 applies to only five counties in Florida, not the entire state, and it only requires those counties to get pre-approval from the Justice Department or a federal court before making changes to voting procedures or rules. Florida has always, in accordance with federal law, used state databases to confirm citizenship information, so this does not constitute a “change” that would require pre-approval. Even if Section 5 did apply, it would not apply to the entire state, so DOJ cannot stop these efforts statewide. Furthermore, House bill 1355, which was pre-approved by the Justice Department, allows the secretary of state to use sources like DMV records to remove registrants who are not U.S. citizens.
Your department also alleges that the removal violates Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act, which prohibits the removal of names from voter registration rolls within 90 days of an election. This claim is also false. Section 8 applies to previously eligible voters who have become ineligible for certain reasons, like moving out of state. It does not apply to voters who have become ineligible through death, criminal conviction, or mental capacity. Section 8 does not apply to voters who were ineligible at the time they registered, which is a felony, including noncitizens.
Even if Section 8 did apply, Florida is in the position of purging the voter rolls at this time only because the Obama Administration violated federal law by refusing Florida’s request to compare registration records with the Department of Homeland Security’s records on noncitizens. If not for the Obama Administration’s stonewalling, this necessary purge of illegal voters would have been completed nine months ago, when the state requested this information.
While your department should be working with Florida to stop voter fraud, you are instead actively working to keep noncitizens – who have committed a felony – on our state’s voter rolls. It is time for you to end your blatant politicization of your position as Attorney General and the Department of Justice as a whole. Please direct the Voting Section of the Department to end its baseless efforts to stop Florida from removing illegal, noncitizen voters from its registration rolls, and please direct your Department to uphold its obligation to prosecute those who have committed a felony by registering to vote illegally.
Sincerely, Thomas J. Rooney Member of Congress
The Help America Vote Act of 2002 explicitly directs states to ensure that voter registration records are accurate by coordinating them “with other databases within the State.” Florida has complied with that law by checking registration records against driver’s license records. Your department now claims that this procedure required pre-approval under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. That claim is simply untrue.
Section 5 applies to only five counties in Florida, not the entire state, and it only requires those counties to get pre-approval from the Justice Department or a federal court before making changes to voting procedures or rules. Florida has always, in accordance with federal law, used state databases to confirm citizenship information, so this does not constitute a “change” that would require pre-approval. Even if Section 5 did apply, it would not apply to the entire state, so DOJ cannot stop these efforts statewide. Furthermore, House bill 1355, which was pre-approved by the Justice Department, allows the secretary of state to use sources like DMV records to remove registrants who are not U.S. citizens.
Your department also alleges that the removal violates Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act, which prohibits the removal of names from voter registration rolls within 90 days of an election. This claim is also false. Section 8 applies to previously eligible voters who have become ineligible for certain reasons, like moving out of state. It does not apply to voters who have become ineligible through death, criminal conviction, or mental capacity. Section 8 does not apply to voters who were ineligible at the time they registered, which is a felony, including noncitizens.
Even if Section 8 did apply, Florida is in the position of purging the voter rolls at this time only because the Obama Administration violated federal law by refusing Florida’s request to compare registration records with the Department of Homeland Security’s records on noncitizens. If not for the Obama Administration’s stonewalling, this necessary purge of illegal voters would have been completed nine months ago, when the state requested this information.
While your department should be working with Florida to stop voter fraud, you are instead actively working to keep noncitizens – who have committed a felony – on our state’s voter rolls. It is time for you to end your blatant politicization of your position as Attorney General and the Department of Justice as a whole. Please direct the Voting Section of the Department to end its baseless efforts to stop Florida from removing illegal, noncitizen voters from its registration rolls, and please direct your Department to uphold its obligation to prosecute those who have committed a felony by registering to vote illegally.
Sincerely, Thomas J. Rooney Member of Congress
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