The ACLU is reporting that current processes underway to prepare for November's elections in Florida are likely to cause many of the same incidents of disenfranchisement that turned thousands of voters away with no remedy in 2000. The State of Florida has said it cannot guarantee that information used to erase 40,000 names from the state's voter registry was accurate. Despite this shortcoming, the State ordered all county supervisors to begin the "purge" of names said to belong to legally disenfranchised felons, without any instruction reminding them of their legal obligation to ensure that the names actually match felons who have been barred from voting.

The failings of these methods have generated the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition (FRRC), a non-profit organization comprised of 40 local and national groups concerned with voting rights and the integrity of elections. FRRC seeks to change the process by which Florida currently requires that felons present their cases to the Governor, petitioning the restsoration of their civil rights, after they have served their full sentence under state law.

The issue is seen more broadly by a new coalition of local groups that warns of widespread electoral inaccuracies stemming from burdensome voter registration requirements, malfunctioning voting machines, and problems with voters whose districts have shifted or who misjudge the location of their polling place. [For more: Globalinfo]