Florida Victory: Feds Grant Access to SAVE Database

The Department of Homeland Security will give Florida access to the SAVE law enforcement database of illegals. The access will be used by Supervisors of Elections to determine if ineligables are on the Florida voters rolls. The Department of Homeland security granted access only after Florida sued in a related case and the suit was upheld by a Federal District Court.

Governor Rick Scott issued the following statement about the victory:

“Access to the SAVE database will ensure that non-citizens do not vote in future Florida elections. I’m appreciative that the federal government is working with us cooperatively. This is a step in the right direction. This commitment from the United States Department of Homeland Security marks a significant victory for Florida and for the integrity of our election system.

“We’ve already confirmed that non-citizens have voted in past elections here in Florida. Now that we have the cooperation of the Department of Homeland Security, our state can use the most accurate citizenship database in the nation to protect the integrity of Florida’s election process.”

The Orlando Sentinel’s Charles Babington reports, “Democrats say that the government’s concession is less troubling than some GOP-controlled states’ push to require voters to show photo identification.” An Indiana law requiring voters to show a photo ID was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in Crawford v. Marion County Election Board, 553 U.S. 181 (2008).

This decision may prove pivitol in the swing states of Florida, Colorado, Nevada and North Carolina.