© 2024 WFSU Public Media
WFSU News · Tallahassee · Panama City · Thomasville
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Fed database used to check for non-citizen voters, total: 182000

Florida is getting the DMV involved in its plan to check whether thousands of registered voters are legal U.S. Citizens. And, as Sascha Cordner reports, some elections supervisors say it’s about time.

Recently, state officials sent a list to county elections supervisors of more than 2600 people who may be non-citizens. But, Leon County Supervisor Ion Sancho says his fellow supervisors have complained about the validity of that list. Now, the Department of State has decided to ask the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to check a federal database to verify the citizenship of as many as 182,000 people.

“Accusing people on erroneous data of not being citizens and upsetting them is not what supervisor of elections are about. And, that’s why we have to use the most accurate information and it’s good the state has decided to vet this list as they should have before they released the first iteration of it.”

The names will now be checked with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Sascha Cordner has more than ten years of public radio experience. It includes working at NPR member station WUFT-FM in Gainesville for several years. She's worked in both radio and TV, serving in various capacities as a reporter, producer and anchor. She's also a graduate of the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree in telecommunications. She is the recipient of 15 awards from the Associated Press, Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), and Edward R. Murrow. Her award-winning stories include her coverage on the infamous “Dozier School for Boys” and a feature titled "Male Breast Cancer: Lost in the Sea of Pink." Currently, Sascha serves as the host and producer of local and state news content for the afternoon news program "All Things Considered" at WFSU. Sascha primarily covers criminal justice and social services issues. When she's not reporting, Sascha likes catching up on her favorite TV shows, singing and reading. Follow Sascha Cordner on Twitter:@SaschaCordner.