Voter Suppression: Uh-Oh, those Racist Florida Republicans are Purging Eligible Voters Again (UPDATE)

May 30, 2012 7 Comments by

Welp, it looks like those racist Republicans are at it again in the Sunshine State. You might not remember, but the last time they successfully targeted black voters for suppression by purging registered voters, we ended up with George W. Bush — yep, and we all know how that all worked out for everybody. So, with about six months to go before the next general election — you know, the one between Obama and Romney? — Florida Republican officials are setting the stage to do the dirty seed of interfering the democratic process, but purging the votes of a few thousand voters.

Of course I do0n’t have to tell you how they’ve been making it harder to vote in at least twenty two states with new Voter ID laws. You know, the answer to the problem that is “illegal aliens” voting in the past, that has yet to be proven to be factual? Well, thanks to Florida, this year instead of catching said “illegals” at the polls, they’re looking to strike them from the rolls all together. Yeah, you know, to preserve the integrity that is the American democratic tradition (?).

This from TPM:

Six members of Florida’s congressional delegation are pushing Gov. Rick Scott (R) to stop purging the state’s voting rolls of eligible voters, after numerous individuals were improperly flagged as non-citizens.

The state used an outdated driver’s license database in their initial effort to scrub non-citizens from the voting rolls. Officials believed that 182,000 voters on the rolls were non-citizens, and began sending out notifications that required voters to prove their citizenship within 30 days.

But plenty of legal U.S. citizens who should be allowed to vote wound up on the purge list. In Miami-Dade County, 1,638 people were flagged by the state as “non-citizens,” yet at least 359 people provided the county with proof of citizenship and another 26 people were identified by the county as U.S. citizens, ThinkProgress reported. An analysis by the Miami Herald found that Hispanic, Democratic and independent-minded voters were most likely to be targeted by the purge effort.

In a letter Tuesday to Scott, Reps. Ted Deutch, Alcee Hastings, Corrine Brown, Frederica Wilson, Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Kathy Castor asked Scott to stop the purge, arguing that the process “fails to meet the basic standards of accountability.”

The members of Congress wrote that it would be “irresponsible to proceed so quickly and with so little room for oversight.”

“If the goal is truly to remove ineligible individuals who were intentionally or somehow mistakenly registered to vote, then that process must move forward in a nonpartisan manner with transparency, uniformity and great care,” the members of Congress wrote.

But RiPPa, why are you trippin’, fool? It ain’t like he’s targeting black folk like they did in 2000! Yeah, sure they aren’t targeting black people this time around; uh-huh, believe that shit if you like; yeah, be that stupid. My guess is that Florida Governor Rick Scott thought he was gonna get a pass doing this because everybody was too busy watching ‘Basketball Wives’ or some shit like that.

Sorry Rick Scott, just ’cause George Zimmerman got arrested doesn’t mean you get a pass on this one. If we let this shit slide in Florida, next thing you know, stuff like this is happening ti black voters in Tennessee and every other state and municipality controlled by those no good Republicans.

Update: Last night on The Rachel Maddow Show, there was an excellent segment that expanded on the conversation of Florida’s currentvoter suppression tactic. Disusing the nationwide scope of Republican voter suppression efforts, in the following segment recorded last night. Judith Browne-Davis of the Advancement Project, a voting rights group, told Rachel her organization had today written to Attorney General Eric Holder, urging the Department of Justice to stop Florida’s purge on the grounds that it illegally targets Hispanic voters. In the following interview, not only does she note that about 60% of the people targeted on the list are Hispanic, she also makes the point that it is illegal and against federal law, to conduct such a purge of voters this close to the election. Definitely check out the following video, to fully understand what is at stake here.

This is yet another example of just how systemic racism is in America today.

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Barack Obama, Black Democrats, Black Politics, Campaign Meme, Political Humor, Politics, Rachel Maddow, Racist Republicans, Voter Suppression

About the author

RiPPa is the creator, publisher, and editor-in-chief of The Intersection of Madness & Reality. As a writer, he uses his sense of humor, sarcasm, and sardonic negro wit to convey his opinion. Being the habitual line-stepper and fire-breathing liberal-progressive, whether others agree with him, isn’t his concern. He loves fried chicken, watermelon, and President Barack Obama. Yes, he's Black; yes, he's proud; and yes, he says it loud. As such, he's often misunderstood.
  • George

    Here’s a question for you, my self-centered blogging friend, would you be hyperventilating if a Democrat was doing this? Or are you of the old adage that no Democrat can do no wrong and no Republican can do no right?

    • http://rippdemup.com/ RiPPa

      Actually, I would be raising hell if Rick Scott was a Democrat. Perhaps with all my self-centered blogging rage, you missed the part where I’ve mentioned on more than one occasion or two, that I take democracy pretty seriously.

  • http://consideringthings.wordpress.com/2012/06/03/is-florida-voter-purge-effort-racist/ Brian Willis

    RiPPa, Let’s assume the effort is partisan and not just trying to
    do a non-partisan clean up.  To believe
    the partisan motive is racist, you have to believe that Republicans would not be
    trying to do this if the group that was potentially voting illegally was
    primarily comprised of a white/European group that happens to vote heavily
    Democrat.  Personally, I believe either
    party would try to clear the voter rolls of anyone they thought would vote against
    them, regardless of race, if they felt they had grounds (e.g. voter illegality) to do
    so.  If Hispanics voted primarily
    Republican, you’d see the Democrat party doing this.  I believe your perception on this is heavily biased toward a presumption of racism until proven otherwise.

    • http://rippdemup.com/ RiPPa

      Here’s the thing: Republicans have already established a pattern of this type of behavior – they’ve done it time and time again in recent election cycles. What makes this racist, is the fact that the purge from an ethnic point of view, targets mostly Hispanics – in 200, they targeted African Americans, in 2004, they targeted African Americans not only in Florida’s, but also Cleveland, Ohio. And, in 2008, they targeted Hispanic voters in Arizona. I’m not making this up, it is all documented – in fact, there were court cases filed against these practices. What other evidence is needed to support the notion that this voter purge is not racist?

      If you’re unable to understand why this is in fact racist, don’t worry; I’m used to the denial of claims of racism from people who are non-racial minorities.  

      • http://consideringthings.wordpress.com/2012/06/03/is-florida-voter-purge-effort-racist/ Brian Willis

        Rippa,

        Don’t you worry either. 
        I’m used to the unfounded charge of racism using other unfounded charges
        of racism as proof of a pattern which, of course, means that the current
        accusation must be true.  After all, once
        anyone does anything (proven or not) that is racist, it means that all
        others who do anything and are accused of racism, must be racist… right?  Check your logic, my friend.

         

        Attempting to remove non-citizens from the voter rolls is a
        valid thing to do.  If you’re not too
        jaded, you should be able to admit that. 
        The approach taken should absolutely not impact anyone who legally has a
        right to vote.  Oh, how I’d love to hear
        your opinion on this if the non-citizens primarily voted Republican.  Regards

  • Reggie

    Yesterday in a church my wife and I visited the pastor spoke on the necessity of getting those that weren’t registered to vote registered.  He also spoke on those “unpatriotic Americans” that strived to deny many of us the right to vote.  I don’t remember ever hearing it put quite that way before………….but maybe that’s just the way to describe it.  To me, people like that are unpatriotic.

    • http://consideringthings.wordpress.com/2012/06/03/is-florida-voter-purge-effort-racist/ Brian Willis

      Reggie,

      I completely agree with you that it would be terribly unpatriotic
      to try to deny voting rights to citizens who are legally eligible to vote.  I’m just not convinced this is the case in
      the above story.  In 2008, I worked as a
      Republican poll observer in what was easily a 90% Democrat precinct.  I was accused by both poll workers and voters
      who knew why I was there, of being there to try to stop people from legally
      voting.  However, that was never my
      intent.  I only wanted to stop illegal
      voting practices that had been reported in the area.  As it turned out, during the course of the
      day, I pressed for a provisional (instead of regular) ballot for only 1 person
      because he had no valid form of ID but, I SAVED at least 15 or 20 votes FOR
      Obama.  The poll worker I was observing
      was friendly but inexperienced.  He
      frequently made mistakes that would have led to having voters’ votes not
      counted.  For example, when someone’s
      name wasn’t found in the book, he’d tell them to just cast a provisional
      ballot.  But, I’d remind him to look the
      person’s address up to find out if they were in the right precinct.  He’d often find they were at the wrong place
      and was then able to direct them to the right precinct (usually just in the
      next room). Had they voted provisional at the wrong precinct, under my states’
      laws, their votes wouldn’t have counted. 
      The people I know in the local GOP, and particularly those in the Tea
      Party, are like me… They only want fairness. 
      And, keep in mind that every illegal vote disenfranchises a legal voter.

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