Florida: Felon List Not for Copy

ORLANDO, Florida -- Florida Department of State officials, in response to a lawsuit by CNN, said nobody is guaranteed the right to a copy of a list of felons who may be purged from voter rolls before the presidential election.

The state is currently embroiled in a lawsuit with CNN and the Florida First Amendment Foundation over public-records requests for the felon list. Shortly after the lawsuit was filed, state officials argued that releasing the names of felons would violate the privacy of those on the list.

In an argument against the lawsuit, lawyers for the state wrote that Florida law requires records "be open for personal inspection by any person," but there is no requirement that copies of the records be provided.

It also argued that a broad release of those names would offer no public service, denying CNN's assertion that the list might disenfranchise the 47,000 people whose names are on the list. While the felons have been flagged in the database, state officials argued that none would be purged from rolls unless county supervisors determine through further research that the convictions are valid.

Florida is one of seven states where convicted felons lose their right to vote. Felons may apply to have that right restored once their sentence is served.

Few have been able to obtain a copy of the list of names because of laws regarding voter-registration books. The purge list is considered part of the Central Voter Database, which has statutory exemptions from the state's public-records laws. Anyone can look at the list of names, but only specific political entities such as candidates and political action committees can have a copy, and the copies can only be used for campaign purposes.

The CNN lawsuit was filed after a public-records request for the list was denied in May. The First Amendment Foundation filed a motion of intervention in June, and Democratic Florida Sen. Bill Nelson filed a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of the network.

In its complaint, CNN attorneys wrote "there is an enormous public interest in scrutinizing the potential disenfranchisement of such a large pool of citizens in what portends to be a closely contested presidential race."

Barbara Petersen, president of the First Amendment Foundation, said the state's arguments simply don't fly. The exclusion from the state's Government-in-the-Sunshine law is itself unconstitutional because it does not provide any benefit or protection for the public, she said. She also said that as a list of people who may be purged from voting rolls, the felon list should not be considered the same as voter registration information in the first place.

The plaintiffs in the case say they want a full list so that its validity may be independently verified. Florida officials hired a private firm in 2000 to flag felons and released a list with 173,142 names, many of which proved to be inaccurate. In fact, hundreds of legitimate voters may have been turned away from precincts. President Bush ultimately won in Florida by 537 votes after a 36-day recount. The 25 electoral votes from the state resulted in Bush winning the presidency.