Despite DOJ's Warning, The 2012 Florida Voter Purge Continues Unabated
by Thom Hartmann
June 4, 2012
The state of Florida told the Justice Department what it can do with its letter demanding Governor Rick Scott end his illegal purge of Democratic voters in the Sunshine State. Despite being informed via a DOJ letter they were in violation of the Voting rights Act last week - officials in Governor Scott's government are pressing forward with a massive effort to kick supposed undocumented immigrants off the voting rolls.
The Florida Secretary of State's office responded to the DOJ letter saying, "We are going to continue forward and do everything that we can legally do to make sure that ineligible voters cannot vote." However, there's overwhelming evidence that legal residents are having their voting rights stripped away too in this voter purge. Democratic Senator Bill Nelson has called for an end to the voter purge - as has the Democratic Party Chairman in Broward County - and the Miami Herald newspaper - which uncovered evidence that most of the voters targeted to be removed from the roles were minorities and Democrats - and very few were Republicans.
Now - investigative reporter Lee Fang has uncovered a possible connection between the Florida voter purge and major right-wing political donors. As Fang reports - Former Florida Secretary of State Kurt Browning - who began the voter purge - previously led a Conservative group called "Protect Your Vote Inc." - which received a $100,000 check from another organization that receives much of it's funding from the billionaire oligarchs - the Koch Brothers. The Koch Brothers are also behind funding to the American Legislative Exchange Council - which has churned out numerous Voter ID laws to make it harder for Democratic voters to vote.
So, it's pretty obvious why Governor Rick Scott is refusing to end his illegal voter purge. It's because he no longer thinks it's worth answering to the nation's democratically-elected federal government. Instead - he - and other Republican Governors around the nation - answer to the now-entrenched Oligarchy of the United States - headed up by people like the Koch brothers.
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