# Florida Congressman Demands Gov. Rick Scott ‘Immediately Suspend’ Voter Purge **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [May 25, 2012, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-congressman-demands-gov-rick-scott-immediately-suspend-voter-purge/623092 "2012-05-25T19:13:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![JBGUSA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/258eb7/32.png) [@JBGUSA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBGUSA)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2012, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-congressman-demands-gov-rick-scott-immediately-suspend-voter-purge/623092/121 "2012-09-30T03:00:59Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > You mean like the Miami Mayoral race in the 1990s which is what brought about the laws which caused such controversy during the 2000 election? > > Yup, it happens and probably always will. > > That said, while I’m not really a fan of operating our elections on the honor system, in-person voter fraud is so vanishingly rare that I find such laws unnecessary. > > However, a number of states, such as Indiana have had such laws in place for a few election cycles. Have there been any studies to show that in those states voting was restricted or prevented due to the laws? The McGovern campaign, in 1972, felt that it was victimized by voter fraud during the Ohio primaries, according to Hunter Thomson’s excellent Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail 1972. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2012, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-congressman-demands-gov-rick-scott-immediately-suspend-voter-purge/623092/122 "2012-09-30T04:14:29Z")
Given that voter purges are the law, you’d think the government would want to maintain accurate databases. And if the databases aren’t accurate, then how can the federal government ever claim that anyone owes taxes? ---
**Author:** ![JBGUSA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/258eb7/32.png) [@JBGUSA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBGUSA)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2012, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-congressman-demands-gov-rick-scott-immediately-suspend-voter-purge/623092/123 "2012-09-30T04:28:09Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Given that voter purges are the law, you’d think the government would want to maintain accurate databases. > > And if the databases aren’t accurate, then how can the federal government ever claim that anyone owes taxes? But the “government” is made up of varying parties with varying interests. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2012, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-congressman-demands-gov-rick-scott-immediately-suspend-voter-purge/623092/124 "2012-09-30T04:33:31Z")
I don’t know how that’s relevant. States want federal databases to do proper voter purges, but the feds insist these databases are garbage. Which raises a lot of questions. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2012, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-congressman-demands-gov-rick-scott-immediately-suspend-voter-purge/623092/125 "2012-09-30T08:22:01Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Given that voter purges are the law, you’d think the government would want to maintain accurate databases. > > And if the databases aren’t accurate, then how can the federal government ever claim that anyone owes taxes? I don’t understand how these two things are connected. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2012, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-congressman-demands-gov-rick-scott-immediately-suspend-voter-purge/623092/126 "2012-09-30T08:24:56Z")
Do they actually say “garbage”? Or is it more like one set of data does not fit all, that some data is useful for voter registration purposes, and some is not. Which doesn’t even approach the question of why voter polls need so badly to be purged, and so urgently. Are they constipated? ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2012, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-congressman-demands-gov-rick-scott-immediately-suspend-voter-purge/623092/127 "2012-09-30T08:30:31Z")
States must maintain accurate voting lists per the Help America Vote Act. You can’t do that if people register and are just there forever, despite moving or dying. Or being ineligible in the first place. Colorado found 2000 people who aren’t citizens but voted. So they want the feds’ database so they can confirm what they’ve found. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2012, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-congressman-demands-gov-rick-scott-immediately-suspend-voter-purge/623092/128 "2012-09-30T14:07:21Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > And if the databases aren’t accurate, then how can the federal government ever claim that anyone owes taxes? Self-reporting. Have you never filed a federal income tax return or something? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2012, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-congressman-demands-gov-rick-scott-immediately-suspend-voter-purge/623092/129 "2012-09-30T16:18:30Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > States must maintain accurate voting lists per the Help America Vote Act. You can’t do that if people register and are just there forever, despite moving or dying. Or being ineligible in the first place. Colorado found 2000 people who aren’t citizens but voted. So they want the feds’ database so they can confirm what they’ve found. I see. So these Draconian Federal regulations demand that these things must be done in a pell-mell fashion, it is absolutely imperative that it be accomplished immediately, before then next election? And that no unseemly hint of partisan advantage seeking taints the motives of Mr. Scott, who’s unblemished record of personal and corporate honesty is a beacon to us all? But he is forced to comply with the brutal demands of the Federal government? By the way, when searching for information about the number of Colorado voters affected, the number I mostly is 4,000, not 2,000. May we ask for a cite? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-congressman-demands-gov-rick-scott-immediately-suspend-voter-purge/623092.md?page=6)