Ruling revives dispute over Florida voter registrations
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS September 29, 2005
MIAMI -- A district court shouldn't have rejected a lawsuit from voters who wanted their partially filled-out voter registration forms approved for the 2004 presidential election, federal appeals judges ruled Wednesday.This article continues...
The three judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta cleared the way for lawyers representing three voters and AFL-CIO unions to again challenge Florida's voter registration forms.
The original lawsuit was filed in October 2004 against Secretary of State Glenda Hood and election supervisors in Duval, Orange, Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties. It charged that material missing from the disqualified forms was unnecessary from the start.
That lawsuit was thrown out in October by U.S. District Judge Lawrence King, who ruled that those suing had no legal standing. But on appeal, the 11th Circuit panel said Wednesday that there was legal standing for the lawsuit, and a new complaint could be filed in light of recently-passed Florida elections laws.
The incomplete forms in question were from people who signed to affirm their voter eligibility, but failed to provide an identification number -- such as from a driver's license or a Social Security card -- or check boxes affirming their citizenship, mental capacity and felony status.
Applicants filling out registration cards are required to sign a form, affirming that they meet eligibility requirements, but applicants must also check separate boxes on the form.
Attorneys with the Advancement Project argued that the rejections had disqualified more than 10,000 people across the state, with a disparate effect on minorities. Nearly 45 percent of the challenged forms in one county, Duval, came from blacks.
Elizabeth Westfall, an Advancement Project attorney, said another complaint would be filed, but there was no deadline set.
Jenny Nash, a spokeswoman for Hood, declined immediate comment Wednesday because the secretary of state's legal counsel had not seen the ruling. Westfall said the information required on the forms was both "immaterial and unnecessary" to the voter registration process, and that recent changes in Florida laws likely drew the concern of the three-judge panel.
In June, Gov. Jeb Bush signed a law that makes Hood responsible for creating a statewide voter registration database to meet a Help America Vote Act requirement for a centralized system in all 50 states. Another law provides safeguards relating to a voter's right to keep private their signature, social security number, and driver's license number.
The legislation authorizes Florida's secretary of state, as the chief elections officer, to maintain uniformity in the application of the election code through interpretations to supervisors and canvassing boards if needed.
MIAMI -- A district court shouldn't have rejected a lawsuit from voters who wanted their partially filled-out voter registration forms approved for the 2004 presidential election, federal appeals judges ruled Wednesday.This article continues...
The three judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta cleared the way for lawyers representing three voters and AFL-CIO unions to again challenge Florida's voter registration forms.
The original lawsuit was filed in October 2004 against Secretary of State Glenda Hood and election supervisors in Duval, Orange, Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties. It charged that material missing from the disqualified forms was unnecessary from the start.
That lawsuit was thrown out in October by U.S. District Judge Lawrence King, who ruled that those suing had no legal standing. But on appeal, the 11th Circuit panel said Wednesday that there was legal standing for the lawsuit, and a new complaint could be filed in light of recently-passed Florida elections laws.
The incomplete forms in question were from people who signed to affirm their voter eligibility, but failed to provide an identification number -- such as from a driver's license or a Social Security card -- or check boxes affirming their citizenship, mental capacity and felony status.
Applicants filling out registration cards are required to sign a form, affirming that they meet eligibility requirements, but applicants must also check separate boxes on the form.
Attorneys with the Advancement Project argued that the rejections had disqualified more than 10,000 people across the state, with a disparate effect on minorities. Nearly 45 percent of the challenged forms in one county, Duval, came from blacks.
Elizabeth Westfall, an Advancement Project attorney, said another complaint would be filed, but there was no deadline set.
Jenny Nash, a spokeswoman for Hood, declined immediate comment Wednesday because the secretary of state's legal counsel had not seen the ruling. Westfall said the information required on the forms was both "immaterial and unnecessary" to the voter registration process, and that recent changes in Florida laws likely drew the concern of the three-judge panel.
In June, Gov. Jeb Bush signed a law that makes Hood responsible for creating a statewide voter registration database to meet a Help America Vote Act requirement for a centralized system in all 50 states. Another law provides safeguards relating to a voter's right to keep private their signature, social security number, and driver's license number.
The legislation authorizes Florida's secretary of state, as the chief elections officer, to maintain uniformity in the application of the election code through interpretations to supervisors and canvassing boards if needed.
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