Bill Nelson: “the last item I want to talk about is of grave concern. Yesterday was the final day for voter registration in the State…”

“the last item I want to talk about is of grave concern. Yesterday was the final day for voter registration in the State of Florida. As one can imagine, there were huge lines at all of the registration points in Florida's 67 counties. But there is a subtle administrative order that could be directing extreme mischief in denying people the right to vote; for a directive, according to the supervisor of elections in one of our counties-- specifically in Volusia--has come out from the secretary of State's office, division of elections, in the capital city of Tallahassee, that says if any piece of information on this Florida voter registration form is missing, this voter registration is to be treated as null and void. Why am I concerned about that? Because they specifically say in the directive that if the box on line 2 that states, ``Are you a U.S. citizen?'' is not checked yes, they are to discard it, when in fact the oath that is signed specifically states, ``I do solemnly swear or affirm that I am a U.S. citizen. I am a legal resident of Florida.'' And the voter registration applicant signs that form. This is a clear intent--hopefully, not an intent--it is a clear manifestation of disenfranchising people, of not allowing them the right to vote, if on a technicality, because on line 2 they have not checked the box of being a U.S. citizen, but on line 17 have sworn under oath that they are a U.S.…”