May 25, 2013
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Florida's top election official expects a purge of non-citizens from voter registration rolls to begin soon and be completed before the Nov. 6 election.
Secretary of State Ken Detzner said Tuesday that Florida has made progress in getting access to an immigration database from the federal Department of Homeland Security.
Republican Gov. Rick Scott began the push to rid Florida's voting rolls of illegally registered non-citizens, but Homeland Security initially declined to help.
It agreed to make the database available after a federal judge refused to halt the purge.
The state compiled a list of more than 180,000 potential non-citizen voters, but Detzner says it is outdated and will not be used once the purge resumes.
Federal authorities, meanwhile, have charged a Canadian with illegally voting in Broward County.
