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'Voter Purges' Will Be Part Of Best Practices Report To Presidential Commission

Lee County Supervisor of Elections Sharon Harrington has been tapped to join a task force of ten election officials from around the country.

The group will present a report on best voting practices to a presidential commission in the coming weeks.

The taskforce will take a close look at ballot lengths and design, poll worker training, voting machines, and voter roll maintenance—which includes so-called “voter purges”.

Last year, Florida’s purge of alleged non-citizens from its voter rolls was halted by election supervisors who said the state’s information was unreliable.

Harrington says she’s preparing for a more effective voter purge now that the state has access to a federal database with immigration information.

"They are beginning to reactivate that particular process again, now that they have access to a little bit more information. But even when it comes down to us, if the state sends us a record and says ‘we don’t believe this person is a citizen and should not be on the rolls.’ We don’t just remove them."

State officials renewed the voter purge following the Supreme Court’s decision this summer striking down a key part of the Voting Rights Act.

Ashley Lopez is a reporter forWGCUNews. A native of Miami, she graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a journalism degree.