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Elections Supervisors Square Off Against Scott's Purge

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Governor Rick Scott may be ready to fight the federal government over his pursuit of purging voter rolls, but he's also facing another front in the fight from all of the 67 county elections supervisors.

According to CBS4 news partner the Miami Herald, all 67 elections supervisors will not move forward with the purge for now because they don't trust the accuracy of the list of potential non-citizens put together by the state.

The state whittled down a list of potential noncitizens to 2,700. Most of those who were targeted were minorities and a large portion of them lived in Miami-Dade County, typically a stronghold for Democrats in national elections.

Out of the list of 2,700, the Herald found that more than 500 have come forward as lawful citizens. A total of 40 people in the list have been identified as non-citizens.

The fight between the state and the federal government is just getting started. The Department of Justice demanded the state stop the voter roll purge being that it was inside of 90 days before a federal election, which isn't allowed.

The state fought back saying it would continue the voter roll purge, even with unreliable information, until the federal government gave the state access to a citizenship and immigration database operated by the Department of Homeland Security.

Scott and his subordinates have said the purge is to prevent voter fraud. Critics said it's a way to purge mainly Democratic and minority voters ahead of the presidential race where Florida will once again become a key swing state.

Florida currently has around 11.4 million eligible voters. According to the Orlando Sentinel, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement reported a total of 178 cases of voter fraud sent to its department since 2000. Out of those cases, a total of 11 arrests have been made.

(TM and © Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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