Source:
Miami HeraldU.S. questions new Florida voting laws
Posted on Tue, Nov. 06, 2007
BY GARY FINEOUT
gfineout@MiamiHerald.com
TALLAHASSEE -- A sweeping new elections law that forced counties to switch to optical scan voting machines is coming under scrutiny by the U.S. Department of Justice, which wants to make sure that voter registration changes authorized by state lawmakers do not unfairly discriminate against minority voters.
Because of past historical discrimination in five Florida counties, including Collier and Monroe, the federal government must ''preclear'' any changes to voting laws.
An Oct. 29 letter from the Civil Rights Division raises questions about new requirements that legislators imposed on groups registering voters, as well as new identification requirements.
''Our analysis also indicates that the information sent is insufficient to enable us to determine that the proposed changes . . . do not have the purpose and will not have the effect of denying or abridging the right to vote on account of race, color or membership in a language minority group,'' John Tanner, chief of the voting section of the Civil Rights Division, wrote to state officials.
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