The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative
Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other
shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org.
November 27, 2012

Florida Republicans Admit Suppression of Democratic Votes Was Goal of New Law 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------


 
Former Republican officials in Florida have admitted a controversial new
law that helped fuel massive lines on Election Day was intentionally
created to suppress Democratic votes. Republican leaders had claimed the
law was aimed at stopping voter fraud. But former Republican officials,
including former Florida governor Charlie Crist, told the Palm Beach
Post that alleged fraud was used as a cover to conceal the main goal of
Republicans — curbing Democratic votes. In particular, Republican
officials were apparently concerned about the impact of early voting by
people of color. The Palm Beach Post cites an anonymous Republican
consultant saying: "I know that the cutting out of the Sunday before
Election Day was one of their targets only because that’s a big day
when the black churches organize themselves." President Obama ultimately
won the battleground state of Florida, but the state’s voting
restrictions caused a spike in provisional ballots, which are used when
a voter’s eligibility is in question.

 

.