The 2000 elections seem to have been centered in Florida. I’m sure that most of us, especially on the left end of the political spectrum, have heard theories and truths that raise questions about what went down in Florida in the days and months before the election (specifically by Katherine Harris) and then the following recount.

Examples of how these oversights occur are criminals who have had their charges changed or reduced. More worrisome is that some may simply have the same name and birthday as someone else who is a felon and on the list.

It appears that this is going to be in the news again but this time before the final count. In two (one and two) recent Associated Press articles.

Since the 2000 elections were settled by less than 600 votes in Florida, the 47,000 voters who are singled out as “ineligible” to vote this November (more than double the number purged in the 2000 election) are a concern of both journalist and election officials alike. I became interested in this emerging story from an article in Active Opposition. In late May an Atlanta based newspaper tried to view this list but received resistance, so CNN followed up by filing a lawsuit against the Florida elections office in order to view this list. Their response was that if someone viewed this list, it could "potentially violate the privacy of innocent voters." Meaning people who should vote.

One GOP supervisor has been quoted as saying “We already found one person [on the list] whose [criminal] charges had later been reduced to a misdemeanor.” So you can change 47,000 to 46,999.

This story will get its first ride in “Time” next Monday but you can read it here.

americanEntropy