87% Of Rick Scott’s Florida Voter Purge Targets Are People of Color

Last updated on February 8th, 2013 at 12:44 am

The fact that 87% of the targets of Rick Scott’s Florida voter purge are people of color demonstrates that when Republicans say voter fraud they really mean blacks and Hispanics voting.

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According to ColorofChange, “Florida Governor Rick Scott is trying to purge state voter rolls just before a key election. Scott's purge will give 180,000 Floridians — 87% of whom are people of color — 30 days to prove their citizenship. Any person who does not provide proof will be dropped from the rolls and deemed ineligible to vote.”

It might be too much to ask Republicans to explain why their voter suppression efforts target people who aren’t white, because they seem to be having a hard enough time proving that voter fraud actually exists.

Here is a fun little experiment. The next time you hear a Republican using the words voter fraud, substitute the phrase African American and Hispanic people voting.  For example when a Republican claims that the biggest problem their state faces is voter fraud, what they really saying is that, “The biggest problem Republicans in my state are facing is that too many African-Americans and Hispanics are voting.” When Republicans refer to the “epidemic of voter fraud,” they are really talking about the, “epidemic of African Americans and Hispanics voting.”

After alienating women, African-Americans, and Hispanics, the only way Republicans that can win elections is by shrinking the size of the electorate by disqualifying as many Democratic leaning voters as possible. If voter fraud was a real problem in Florida, why haven’t there been more prosecutions for this crime? According to the Orlando Sentinel, “178 cases of alleged voter fraud have been referred to the department since 2000. FDLE's spreadsheet showed 11 arrests, but that apparently didn't include a 2009 bust of ACORN registration volunteers in Miami-Dade that yielded seven convictions and sentences ranging from probation to 72 days in jail.”

After the 2000 presidential election, Florida reformed their process, and there have been no prosecutions for absentee ballot voter fraud. Even though whites make up 68% of electorate in Dade County, they were only 9% of the target names on Gov. Scott’s list. In Dade, 64% of those targeted were Hispanic, and 14% were African-American.

Something tells me that if these African Americans and Hispanics were strong supporters of the Republican Party, no such purge would be taking place. Beyond the political backfire of helping Obama, the attempted Florida voter purge demonstrates how little Republicans value the concept of one person, one vote.

The most likely outcome of an Obama reelection is that Republicans will work even harder to suppress the Democratic vote in future elections.

Voter fraud isn’t just a myth. It’s Republican code. Remember, when you hear a Republican talk about voter fraud what they really are trying to eliminate is the “problem” of Democrats, African Americans, and Hispanics voting.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association