Many Floridians surprised, upset by mistakes on felons list

Associated Press

Many Floridians were shocked to find their name on a state list of nearly 48,000 felons potentially ineligible to vote, even though they had a clean criminal record or had received clemency.

"Weird," William Miller, 50, of Tampa said Friday. "I've never been arrested for felonies."

Miller, an unemployed mechanic, is on the state list even though he has a clean criminal record and is a registered voter. He apparently has been confused with a man who has the same first and last name, plus the same birthday - but who also has a different middle name and a Florida criminal record.

The situation revives bad memories of the 2000 presidential election, in which many citizens discovered at the polls they weren't allowed to vote. A company hired to identify ineligible voters before the election produced an error-filled list and elections supervisors removed voters without verifying its accuracy.

When George W. Bush won Florida - and the presidency - by 537 votes, many Democrats were convinced state officials purposely culled too many voters from the rolls to ensure the Republican's election.

And with mistakes are still showing up on the 47,763-name list - widely disseminated after a Tallahassee judge lifted restrictions to access it on Thursday - the battleground state of Florida is again undergoing harsh scrutiny.

"This potential careless and needless disfranchisement of thousands of voters is extremely disturbing," said Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe. "Florida's list of felons ... needs to be scrapped."

A spokeswoman for Republican Gov. Jeb Bush dismissed the Democrats' complaints as "pure politics."

Bush's office and state election officials emphasized that the list is intended to be a starting point for county election supervisors, who are expected to determine who should be removed from the rolls. But problems already are arising for those elections officials trying to find mistakes.

Gertrude Walker, St. Lucie County's supervisor of elections, is considering hiring a private firm to check out the 909 names in her jurisdiction. She, however, hasn't asked county officials for that money.

"This is quite costly, and I didn't budget for it," Walker said.

State officials have said there are names on the list who are not felons, and elections workers have had flagged more than 300 people listed who might have received clemency. Others on the list had registered to vote before they received clemency, election officials said. Those people need to register to vote again.

About 50 years ago, Daniel Dolan was convicted of breaking into a drive-in theater in Tarpon Springs. The Republican served his prison time, and a few years later he argued successfully to have his voting rights restored.

"I've been voting ever since that day," said Dolan, now 76 and living in Sarasota. "I vote in every election, local elections, primaries, general elections. I just don't miss."

Dolan said he's not sure he can find the papers that prove he had his voting rights restored.

"I don't understand, because I got a pardon," Dolan said. "Somebody should have a record of it. I shouldn't have to go digging around."

On Election Day, anyone who feels they have been inadvertently removed from the voter rolls will be allowed to use a provisional ballot. Those ballots will be later examined to determine the voter's eligibility.