The federal government has allowed Florida to use a Department of Homeland Security database of noncitizen residents. The agreement between the federal government and Florida is a victory for Gov. Rick Scott, whose goal is to purge all noncitizens and ineligible voters from the state’s registration rolls.

It is hoped the federal database is more reliable than those the state previously attempted to use. Florida needs to ensure legitimate voters are not excluded. There is a high potential for thousands of legal voters to be removed from registration rolls if the data used is inaccurate.

Scott initially wanted to remove about 180,000 individuals from registration rolls because voters’ names did not match the names on their driver’s licenses. Several election supervisors in Florida counties refused to remove the voters from the rolls because of a high error rate with the database.

Now, Florida will be able to cross-reference the 180,000 names with the federal database. Florida’s ability to use the federal database is one of many ongoing efforts in the state to combat supposed voter fraud. Laws have already been passed to reduce early voting from 14 days to eight.

Florida is not the only state trying to block voting access. Voter identification laws have gained support in states throughout the country. The goal of these laws is to try to combat voter fraud. Unfortunately, voter fraud is an unproven phenomenon. The potential for voter fraud is the only reason voter ID laws have been passed.

Pennsylvania passed a strict law earlier this year requiring voters to have an ID issued by the state’s transportation department. About 9.2 percent of the state’s 8.2 million voters do not have this form of identification. In Philadelphia, 18 percent of voters do not have these ID cards. The law allows for the use of other federally issued ID cards, but it is unknown how many voters do not have an acceptable ID.

Pennsylvania House Majority Leader Mike Turzai, listing the GOP accomplishments in the state, said, “Voter ID, which is gonna allow Governor Romney to win the state of Pennsylvania —done.” Turzai’s comments may reveal the true purpose of voter identification laws. There is a high potential for minorities and poorer individuals to be disproportionately affected by these laws. These individuals do not have the identification needed to vote. Thus, traditionally Democratic supporters are excluded.

The Justice Department has committed to stopping voter identification laws like those in Florida and Pennsylvania, but it has had mixed success. Attorney General Eric Holder said, “The arc of American history has always moved toward expanding the electorate. It is what has made this nation exceptional. We will simply not allow this era to be the beginning of the reversal of that historic progress.”

During a similar purge in 2000, approximately 8,000 voters were incorrectly taken off Florida’s voter registration rolls. The voters were mistakenly listed as felons. An error-riddled database was to blame. Had they been able to vote, the tight race between Al Gore and George W. Bush may have been different.

Florida and other states must learn from the mistakes made in previous elections. Databases of ineligible voters need to be properly scrutinized before they are used. Voter fraud is an unsupported excuse, yet states are allowed to check voter eligibility. Voter purges should only be done when there is reliable and accurate data.

Gov. Scott said, “Irreparable harm will result if noncitizens are allowed to vote.” More harmful, though, is if legitimate voters are blocked from voting. Florida’s history of failure in conducting voter purges does not inspire confidence.

Harmen Rockler is a senior newspaper journalism and political science major. His column appears weekly. He can be reached at horockle@syr.edu.

Published on July 25, 2012 at 2:24 pm