The law restricting the news media's access to Florida's voter purge list should be declared unconstitutional and the list made available for verification and analysis.
Published June 5, 2004
That is about the most charitable word to describe a state law preventing the news media from having access to Florida's voter purge list. This is the list of registered voters who have been identified by the Florida Division of Elections as likely felons and as such, potentially ineligible to vote in the next election. The cable news giant CNN had requested the list of 47,000 names, a public record, from the department, but was told that state law prevents the media from obtaining a copy.
In light of the 2000 presidential election in which allegations swirled that thousands of primarily minority voters were disenfranchised by a grossly inaccurate felons list, the current list should be openly available for scrutiny by any interested party, including news organizations. Though the department is right that there is an applicable law preventing general disclosure, that law should be set aside as unconstitutional.
The Florida Constitution expresses a strong presumption in favor of government operating in the sunshine, which includes making the records collected and held by the state widely available. Any statute that closes off a government record from the public must be passed under strict standards laid out by the state Constitution: The law must relate to only one subject, it must be limited to the exemption sought and it must contain a statement of public necessity. But the statute being relied upon by the department to deny CNN's request failed to meet these criteria. In 2001, the Legislature passed a comprehensive election reform law that was more than 100 pages long, dealing with a variety of election-related issues. One provision limits public access to voter registration information. Although anyone is free to examine voter records, the law provides that only certain individuals and entities, including candidates, officeholders, political committees, etc., can make copies of the list.
In a lawsuit filed late last month in Leon Circuit Court, CNN argues that the statute should be set aside because it was unconstitutionally promulgated and erects a dual system of access to public records that violates equal protection.
Defending the status quo is Jenny Nash, a spokeswoman for the Florida Department of State, who says that while the felons list "is a public record and any citizen can view it," restrictions on copies being made are valid because they protect "the privacy of the voters." Nash's position makes little sense and appears to be an irrational justification for an unjustifiable law.
With the 2004 presidential election just five months away and criticism of the current ineligible voter list being loudly voiced by the civil rights community, there is a strong public interest in making the list available for independent verification and analysis. The courts should act quickly in finding any barrier to access unconstitutional.
