Supervisor Sandra's Job

by Clifford J. Marlowe
11/28/00

Supervisor Sandra Goard of Seminole County was doing her job under law that reads she "must ensure" that any eligible applicant for voter registration is registered to vote.

According to the 2000 Florida Statutes 98.045  Administration of voter registration.

"(1) Each supervisor must ensure that any eligible applicant for voter registration is registered to vote. Once a voter is registered, the name of that voter may not be removed from the registration books except at the written request of the voter."

The fact that she used the power granted her under law to make sure some 15,000 voters that sent in their application were properly processed is not illegal. The only person that has the right under Florida law to remove these votes is the voter themselves. If any Judge rules to remove a processed application that was registered and counted and certified by the State as a legal one, it is illegal to do this.

If Democrats want to remove their vote in Seminole county fine. No Republican vote should be removed unless the voter in writing request it. That is the law! Also, once registered, that voter may not be removed from the books according to the law.

It is also the Supervisor's job according to 98.081 to make sure "(3)  When the name of any elector has been erroneously or illegally removed from the registration books, the name of the elector shall be restored by the supervisor upon satisfactory proof, even though the registration period for that election is closed." 

She again did her job to restore these voters that might otherwise have been erroneously or illegally removed. The proof she had according to the law was the application signed and dated by the applicant.

Also section 98.181  reads "Supervisor of elections to make up indexes or records.-- A set of indexes or records as the supervisor may direct shall be kept in each municipality of over 25,000 population"

It was her job to "make up indexes and records" for these 15,000 applications that came in on time without a voter-identification number. For a voter-identification number is no more than an index number. For the voter-identification number is used as an index or record of the voter. What she did was in keeping with her job and the law.

Every vote counts and these 15,000 count, for no voter has asked in writing that their individual vote should not.