The Justice Department is suing the state of Florida over its controversial voter roll purge. Federal officials made their announcement today — the very same day that the state announced its plans to sue the Obama administration in an effort to get access to a Homeland Security Department database to aid in its voter purge efforts.
And because there clearly isn’t enough legal action to go around, the ACLU is also suing the state of Florida over the purge.
Florida’s Republican Governor Rick Scott defended the purge today on FOX News saying, “We found individuals that are registered to vote that don’t have a right to vote… and they voted. I have a job to do to defend the right of legitimate voters.”
That echos remarks Governor Scott made yesterday at a Tea Party event in Tallahassee. Scott said at that event, “Okay so the latest is who should get to vote in our state and in our country. People that are citizens of our country. It’s very simple, right? Who comes up with the idea that you get to vote if you’re not a citizen?” You can read more about that event over on The Maddow Blog.
As for the letter written by Attorney General Thomas Perez, it’s been included below. It was sent today by the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division to Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner.
Nick Ramsey
Nick Ramsey is a senior producer with MSNBC’s “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell.” Recommended
