Yes, the psyche of the US will be forced to revisit
Fraudida in this campaign. Hopefully, the Democratic
Party has learned the painful lesson it should already
have learned...The LNS *KNOWS* Sen. John F. Kerry
(D-Mekong Delta) is not going to go quietly, and we
are also confident that Al Gore will not allow it to
happen again without taking it to the STREETS...Either
you understand the nature of the "vast reich-wing
conspiracy" and how it operates or you will lose this
Republic...
CNN: A state court judge in Florida ordered Thursday
that the board of elections immediately release a list
of nearly 50,000 suspected felons to CNN and other
news organizations that last month sued the state for
access to copies of the list.
The list is used to determine who will be eligible
to vote in November's presidential election in the
state.
The lawsuit, filed by CNN and joined by other news
organizations, challenged a 2001 statute passed by the
Republican-controlled legislature that limited the
public's access to the list.
News organizations were allowed to inspect the
list, but not make copies of it or take notes from it.
"The right to inspect without the right to copy is an empty right indeed," said Leon County Circuit Judge Nikki Clark, in her six-page order.
Thwart the Theft of a Second Presidential Election,
Show Up for Democracy in 2004: Defeat Bush (again!)
http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/070304F.shtml
Judge Rules for Media on Florida Voter List
CNN
Thursday 01 July 2004
Upholds both 'right to inspect' and 'right to copy.'
A state court judge in Florida ordered Thursday
that the board of elections immediately release a list
of nearly 50,000 suspected felons to CNN and other
news organizations that last month sued the state for
access to copies of the list.
The list is used to determine who will be eligible
to vote in November's presidential election in the
state.
In a statement issued shortly after the ruling was
announced, Secretary of State Glenda Hood accepted the
ruling as final.
"Now that the court has ruled that statute to be
unconstitutional, we will make these records
accessible to all interested parties," she said.
Florida bars people convicted of felonies in that
state from voting.
In 2000, a similar list was the center of
controversy when state officials acknowledged after
the election that it contained thousands of names in
error, thus barring eligible people from voting.
Many of the barred voters were African-Americans,
who traditionally tend to vote Democratic.
Bush won the state by a 537-vote margin and, with
it, the presidency.
The lawsuit, filed by CNN and joined by other news
organizations, challenged a 2001 statute passed by the
Republican-controlled legislature that limited the
public's access to the list.
News organizations were allowed to inspect the
list, but not make copies of it or take notes from it.
"The right to inspect without the right to copy is
an empty right indeed," said Leon County Circuit Judge
Nikki Clark, in her six-page order.
"Whether the public chooses to inspect or copy
[the list] is not the choice of the governmental
agency which has custody of the record. It is the
choice of the person who has requested access."
The judge went on to declare the statute
unconstitutional because it failed to comply with a
constitutional amendment guaranteeing public access to
the state's public records.
The state has a right to an automatic 48-hour
stay, if its lawyers appeal.
They would have to show cause why the information
should continue to be withheld, said Tampa attorney
Gregg D. Thomas of the law firm Holland & Knight,
which is representing the news organizations.
"I think the long-term impact is that the citizens
of Florida will have access to the interactions of
their government to make sure that the government,
particularly with regard to the right to vote, is
conducting itself appropriately."
The list contains the names of 47,763 suspected
felons.
The voter-exclusion list was compiled from state
clemency reports, lists of felons and other databases,
Thomas said.
The ACLU applauded the decision.
"This is good news for voters because now these
records will be open and available for public
inspection to help protect the right of every eligible
voter in Florida," said Howard Simon, executive
director of the ACLU of Florida, which also joined the
case. "Our interest in this case is to analyze the
information on the list to prevent eligible voters
from being wrongfully purged from the rolls."
Miami lawyer Joseph Klock Jr., representing the
state, did not return a call Thursday.
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Posted by richard at July 3, 2004 04:24 AM