Florida: 1500 African-American Voter Registrations in Question

A spot-check of voters who were registered using photocopied forms indicates that they really did sign up to vote, Leon County's elections chief said Tuesday, but doubts continue about their choice of party. Leon County received about 1,500 photocopied voter registrations, mostly from Florida A&M University and nearby black neighborhoods. The overwhelming majority registered as Republicans, which made Elections Supervisor Ion Sancho suspicious because the FAMU precincts are lopsidedly Democratic. His staff has contacted 36 voters so far, all of whom said they signed color registration forms, not the black-and-gray photocopies forwarded to Sancho. And only one of the 36 said he intended to sign up with the GOP. Voters aren't required to designate a party when they register, and members of all parties can vote in the Nov. 2 general election. So for voting purposes, party registration won't matter until the 2006 primaries and people have plenty of time to switch. But there's still the question of whether the signatures on the forms are originals as the law requires. Sancho revealed Monday that he asked the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate. [more ] and [more ]