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The State of Florida reached an agreement with the Department of Homeland Security this past Friday to use the Systematic Verification for Entitlement Program or SAVE database which tracks immigration status to remove voters that Florida deems ineligible from the voting rolls. Republican lawmakers including Florida Governor Rick Scott, have cited concerns with allowing those who are not citizens to vote in the upcoming 2012 presidential election. Meanwhile the U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against the Florida Secretary of State as well as South Carolina and Texas to stop purging names from voter lists.

Voter disenfranchisement has become a national trend. Just last week in Pennsylvania, State Judge Robert Simpson upheld a controversial voter ID law which could possibly disenfranchise up to 750,000 voters in the upcoming November election, despite the fact that there have been no known cases of voter fraud in past elections. Republican politicians who sponsored the bill claimed that it was necessary to preserve voting integrity. Pennsylvania Republican House Leader Mike Turzai listed as one of his legislative accomplishments stating that the Pennsylvania voter ID law, “…is going to allow Governor Romney to win the state of Pennsylvania.”

Across the country there has been a massive push by GOP lawmakers to pass voter ID laws even though 21 million Americans do not own a government issued ID. In addition to voter ID laws Republicans have also been working to cut down on early voting hours, limit voter registration and remove names from voter rolls despite the fact that the Voting Rights Act of 1965 clearly outlaws discriminatory voting practices. Thirty four states with Republican majorities have proposed voter ID laws and 9 states, including Pennsylvania, have already passed such laws. Attorney General Eric Holder has described the voter ID laws a “poll tax”.

GUEST: Brentin Mock, New Orleans based journalist who serves as lead reporter on Voting Rights Watch, a reporting partnership of Colorlines.com and The Nation Magazine.

Visit www.ncsl.org, www.colorlines.com, and www.thenation.com for more information.