Secretary of State orders review of state voting list

The Associated Press
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. Secretary of State Glenda Hood on Thursday ordered a review of the entire database used to ensure ineligible people are removed from voting rolls, following criticism over a flawed list of potential felons given to elections supervisors.

Hood asked her inspector general to review how the state's voting database was created and what information was available to its designers.

"We are committed to ensuring successful elections in which every eligible voter can exercise his or her right to vote," Hood said, adding she wants voters to have "the highest level of confidence" in Florida's system.

The review follows a slew of criticism regarding how Florida, per state law, removes felons from voting rolls. A list given to county elections supervisors contained nearly 48,000 names of presumed felons, but earlier this month state officials said the disputed list would not be used in this election cycle.

The new database matching system was required by the Legislature following the 2000 election, when several voters complained they were prevented from voting because they were wrongly identified as felons.