Rooney: Federal Judge Upholds Actions to Prevent Voter Fraud
For Immediate Release: June 28, 2012
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney (FL-16) said a ruling yesterday from U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle, who rejected a request from the Obama Administration to block Florida’s efforts to prevent voter fraud, confirmed that federal laws do not prevent states from removing ineligible voters from their voter rolls.
“This ruling confirms what we’ve said all along: removing ineligible, noncitizen individuals in a careful, deliberate way is critical to ensuring the integrity of our elections,” Rooney said. “When one person votes illegally – which is a felony – they’re canceling out your vote and undermining the democratic process. I commend Governor Scott and Secretary of State Detzner for their efforts to ensure that our voter rolls are accurate and our elections are fair.”
The Administration argued that the “90-day rule,” designed to prevent states from removing eligible voters who have moved within 90 days of an election, also applied to noncitizens who were never eligible to vote in the first place. Judge Hinkle, who was nominated to the bench by President Clinton, confirmed Rooney’s claim that those rules were not designed to prevent states from removing individuals who committed a felony by registering to vote illegally.
In a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder on June 6, Rooney wrote:
“Your department also alleges that the removal violates Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act, which prohibits the removal of names from voter registration rolls within 90 days of an election. This claim is also false. Section 8 applies to previously eligible voters who have become ineligible for certain reasons, like moving out of state. It does not apply to voters who have become ineligible through death, criminal conviction, or mental capacity. Section 8 does not apply to voters who were ineligible at the time they registered, which is a felony, including noncitizens.”
###