This is when and where the DOJ better stomp down hard:

[Are_grits_groceries]

Floorida Voter Purge Will Continue, Defying Federal Warning

Florida will defy a federal warning to stop purging people the state suspects aren't U.S. citizens from voter registration rolls.

Despite a Justice Department letter, objections from county elections officials and evidence that a disproportionate number are voters of color, Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner's office planned to continue scrubbing the election rolls, a spokesman said Friday. Gov. Rick Scott (R) ordered the search for potentially ineligible voters.

“We have an obligation to make sure the voter rolls are accurate and we are going to continue forward and do everything that we can legally do to make sure than ineligible voters cannot vote,” said Chris Cate, a spokesman for Detzner. “We are firmly committed to doing the right thing and preventing ineligible voters from being able to cast a ballot. We are not going to give up our efforts to make sure the voter rolls are accurate."

Justice Department officials declined to comment on Florida’s plans.

In a letter issued late Thursday, T. Christian Herren Jr., who leads the Justice Department voting section, told Detzner that the state's plan to review the status of the 2,600 suspected non-citizens and purge them if the voters fail to prove citizenship appears to violate the 1964 Voting Rights Act and the National Voter Registration Act.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/02/florida-voter-purge-federal-warning_n_1564131.html

The warning was a shot across the bow of the ASS Governor Scott. He fired back.

If the DOJ does not stomp them into at least the mid-20th century, then they will reap what they sow. You cannot let a state government deny the voting rights of its citizens. This is a back door method that has replaced the poll tax and other forms of voter discrimination.

They better have a well thought out legal plan AND when they act, the DOJ has to control the message.

My bet is they don't want to appear to be fixing the vote for the President. If so and they don't act, they deserve to lose votes. However, the citizens who are rightfully being their rights don't deserve to be purged. If there is any place for a strong federal response its on this issue. If they smacked this revolt half as hard as they are smacking medical marijuana supporters, it would have been stopped yesterday.

The DOJ needs to highlight and let people see the citizens who are being denied the right to vote. They need to present a strong case in a short but unforgettable message right at the beginning. The details can then be laid out.

If they don't control the message, the GOP will. They are controlling it now with their false claims about massive voter fraud. The only massive fraud is the claims they are making about the size of the group who shouldn't vote and do. this is happening in a lot of states.

Some people have been very dismissive about Rmoney winning. You better remember two things. 270 and the places where voting shenanigans will be rampant. Ohio and Florida are just two of them and the Dems cannot afford to lose both in 2012. 270 electoral votes isn't hard to get especially when the game is rigged.

It is getting late early. The DOJ can't wait because the election isn't as far off as it may appear. There won't be time to stop and correct this in the last month or two.

If some of them handling this matter had been smacked on the head trying to cross the Edmund Pettis Bridge, then maybe they would understand what forces oppose them. For all the progress made in a lot of areas, some things haven't changed as much as they should have. It is and always will be a constant effort to stop regressive forces.

Either step up now and take a stand or reap the whirlwind as the Republicans slouch towards Washington dragging the entire country with them.

[pnwmom]

1. He might just be spouting off. He says he will continue to do everything "legally that we can do."

Which might mean he has to stop everything he has been doing. We'll know more soon.

[kitt6]

2. This administration may need to call a Constitutional

Crisis. Florida is (off the Hook) gone, but what about other crazy Governors?

[longship]

3. Haven't the 67 election supervisors stopped purging?

So it is moot what Scott wants. There is no more purge.

This has been reported by TPM and in multiple threads here at DU. So why do we have yet another "purge will go on" thread?

I would like to know which is the true story.

[bigtree]

4. it's all from the HuffPo article

which didn't mention the supervisors at all.

They failed to mention them because their focus was all on amplifying Scoot and his honcho's initial defiant words as if they would carry the day. Scott sure hopes so, but the president of the association of supervisors, citing a legal opinion given them by their lead counsel, said she expects all 67 supervisors to listen to the lawyer and halt their purge efforts until the issue was resolved between the State and Justice.

Further, she says that a competent check can't be done given the information provided the, so, between that and the letter they received, she has also advised them to stop.

Think Progress reported that the supervisors will indeed stand down.

link:

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/06/02/494088/all-67-florida-election-supervisors-suspend-governor-rick-scotts-voter-purge/

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/state/florida-voter-purge-gets-pushback-from-elections-supervisors-2387004.html

[bigtree]

5. you talk about 'controlling the message'

and you, nonetheless, post this HuffPo generated titled article which does little more than amplify Scott's initial defiant blather.

He has until June 6 to comply with the letter. It informs him that his purge is taking place after the deadline for such pursuits. Further, it informs Scott that NONE of the actions taken by Florida in response to the lists he provided are prosecutable because it wasn't submitted to Justice or the courts for review under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act to determine that it doesn't discriminate.

The lead counsel for the supervisors who are tasked with handling and processing the voter lists he sent them has advised them to halt operations and they will listen to him and will ALL stand down, according to their association president, and will suspend action on the purge unless and until Scott resolves the challenge from Justice. That's the process, that's the law. The Justice Dept. has taken the first step in confronting the issue. Some of what's next is up to Scott, some is a ball rolling in his direction. This isn't over as far as the Justice Dept. is concerned. I'm frustrated that we're not leveraging our advocacy off of the Justice Dept.'s correct challenge, and, instead, acting as if it's Holder and co. under investigation and on trial. They've acted with the authority given them under the Voting Rights Act and Florida will either comply or they'll be sanctioned or sued by the department. I'd also expect individual lawsuits.

No more parroting Scott's and HuffPo's propaganda. The shot across the bow DID have a chilling effect. Now comes the real showdown. I'll bet Scott blinks. This isn't just some lone voter or some Democratic party challenge. This is the full force of the U.S. Department of Justice with all of the resources available to them. holder has said repeatedly that his department is actively investigating and intends to challenge improper election procedures and regs around the nation. He's struck down the 'voter id' laws in both Texas and South Carolina and already committed to send Justice Dept. monitors to Texas to oversee their election. Florida has opened themselves up to a more direct focus of their voting procedures. I expect Holder and co. to use this as a foot-in-the-door opportunity to get as close to their election procedures as he is able and to investigate and act on anything he believes is improper or a crime. Defiance by Scott will just open it up that much wider and allow Justice to parent over them through November.

[DonCoquixote]

6. Mr. Holder

If you keep the screws to scott, you keep your job, if not, Obama needs to flush you, that simple.

And Huffpo, quit your centrist love fest with Romney, because that will NOT set the stage for Hillary 2016. If Mitt wins, the CIA will make sure Hillary and Bill do not make it, by fair or foul means.

[BumRushDaShow]

7. All counties have now halted purges

http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/content/county-elections-officials-halt-controversial-voter-purge

[Are_grits_groceries]

8. That's not what the article says:

<snip>
"Ultimately, it's their call to make,'' said Chris Cate, spokesman for the Department of State said of the supervisors' decision. "We would encourage them, if they believe they have reliable information that someone is an ineligible voter, those persons should be removed."

The U.S. Department of Justice gave Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner until June 6 to respond their concerns. Cate said the department continues to believe it is operating within the law and will urge supervisors to continue to remove people from the list they deem ineligible.

“We will have a response to DOJ, but we are committed to doing the right thing and prevent ineligible voters from voting,’’ he said. “We have been following the law throughout this whole process.”
<snip>

The supervisor's have been asked to stop.
Whether they all do is not set in stone. Asking them is much different than making them.

This is a big mess, and they will cut whatever corners they can. You can trust them because I don't. It remains to be seen what actually happens.

[bigtree]

9. Think Progress: ALL 67 Florida Election Supervisors SUSPEND Governor Rick Scott’s Voter Purge

link:

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/06/02/494088/all-67-florida-election-supervisors-suspend-governor-rick-scotts-voter-purge/

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/state/florida-voter-purge-gets-pushback-from-elections-supervisors-2387004.html

Do you have me on ignore or something?

[Are_grits_groceries]

10. From the 'Palm Beach Post' article:

<snip>
Detzner issued a press release Friday indicating he will respond on time but will not back down from the state's effort.

"As Florida's Chief Election Officer, I am committed to ensuring the accuracy of Florida's voter rolls and the integrity of our elections. . . . The Department will continue to act in a responsible and cautious manner when presented with credible information about potentially ineligible voters. No one that has the right to vote has been denied the opportunity to cast a vote, and as the Secretary, it is my duty to ensure that remains the case," Detzner said.
<snip>

No,I actually don't have anybody on ignore.
The last article is contradictory. In addition, even if the General Counsel recommends it and the supervisors say they will comply, who knows what will actually go on.
I repeat, I don't trust anything they say or do.

[bigtree]

12. this is where you're buying into their spin

The Justice Dept. has executed a challenge to their purge. They have until June 6 to comply. It makes no difference at all that Denzer and Scott made their initial, defiant statements to continue. They can send out as many voter lists as they want, but the all of the 67 supervisors say they will have no part in processing them. They are independently elected and are not bound to follow Scott down. His purge is effectively suspended.

The legal counsel for the supervisors has advised them to wait for the challenge from Justice is resolved before resuming. Further, the president of their association says the lists don't have enough information to make a correct judgment and has also advised the supervisors to stand down:


from another Palm Beach article: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/state/florida-voter-purge-gets-pushback-from-elections-supervisors-2387004.html

Florida elections supervisors said Friday they will discontinue a state-directed effort to remove names from county voter rolls because they believe the state data is flawed and because the U.S. Department of Justice has said the process violates federal voting laws...

The Justice Department letter and mistakes that the 67 county elections supervisors have found in the state list make the scrub undoable, said Martin County Elections Supervisor Vicki Davis, president of the Florida State Association of Supervisors of Elections…

"There are just too many variables with this entire process at this time for supervisors to continue," Davis said.


read: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/state/florida-voter-purge-gets-pushback-from-elections-supervisors-2387004.html


These supervisors aren't going to subject themselves to anything that's going to have them sanctioned by the justice Dept. or the courts. They are standing down, no matter what Scott and his comrade say they want.

Now, Scott can certainly devise another scheme to further his effort, but, remember, this letter from Justice reminds Florida that they are still subject to the Voting Rights Act and that the Justice Dept. has the authority under Section 5 of the Act (meant to enforce the Fifteenth Amendment) to review and pass judgment on such regulations to determine they aren't discriminatory. It's clear authority which was upheld by the courts in rejecting a challenge as recently as 2009. The Justice Dept. will act against Scott if he doesn't comply or state his intentions by June 6.

This is by no means the end of the process. It's a proper beginning for a federal agency reaching into a state to monitor their election. Section 5 isn't a blunt instrument. The department will investigate their procedure (and likely other aspects of their voting laws) and they will either sue Florida or sanction them. I don't know what the penalties are for non-compliance, but the Justice dept. will act to bring Florida under the letter of the law. That's what this first step is all about. That's why the supervisors' lawyer recommended they stand down. that's why their association president recommended they halt. That's why all 67 supervisors are stopping the purge where it stands.


That's 'what's going on.' It's right there in front of you. All you have to do is avert your gaze from Scott's posturing and focus on what Justice and the folks who are tasked with carrying out Scott's illegal purge are doing.



PDF of Legal Update to Supervisors
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/files/2012.06.01_-_legal_update_to_supervisors.pdf

[Nictuku]

11. Voters denied the right to vote

..... should be highlighted in snappy television ads, exposing the real reason behind the purges.

Especially 90 year old women who have voted in every election throughout the decades.

Seems to me these political ads would write themselves. Play them over and over and get the message out there what this voter purging is really all about.