No Pre-Election Review|of Florida’s Voter Purge

(CN) - The 11th Circuit refused to expedite review of Florida's plan to remove potential noncitizens from the voter rolls before the Nov. 6 election.

Earlier this year, a coalition of voting-rights groups and a labor union challenged Florida's program, claiming that federal law prohibits systematic voter purging within 90 days of a federal election.

The state countered that the 90-day prohibition protects only properly registered voters, and not noncitizens who should not have been on the rolls in the first place.

After a federal judge refused to block the plan earlier this month, the groups appealed to the 11th Circuit, seeking an expedited appeal before the upcoming election.

Judge Rosemary Barkett denied the request Tuesday, citing Florida's argument that there is no chance that a properly registered citizen will be removed from the voter rolls under the program before the Nov. 6 election.

"The secretary's position, however, appears to beg the question of whether the [National Voter Registration] Act prohibits a state from determining whether someone is properly registered within ninety days of a federal election," Barkett noted.

But the judge left the dispute for after the upcoming election.

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