October

19, 2016


The Honorable Ken Detzner
Florida Secretary of State
R.A. Gray Building
500 South Bronough Street
Tallahassee, FL, 32399-0250


RE: Investigation into Partisanship/Racial Animus in Florida Election Administration

Dear Secretary Detzner,

As Secretary of State you set the tone for how elections should be administered in Florida. County election
board members, state legislators, and other statewide elected officials look to your example when considering
questions of voter registration and election administration.

That is why we write to you today: in hopes that your office will root out any Florida election official--both at
the county election board-level and in your own office--who is motivated by partisanship or racial animus.

Our request comes after a months-long investigation into Floridas election administration resulting in the
publication of a new report included with this letter. It details recent attempts by state and local officials to
make voter registration and voting more difficult through efforts that disproportionately affect minority,
senior citizen, disabled, and low-income voters.

It also reveals the partisan political motivations behind many of these efforts and the unfortunately common
occurrence of local election officials who should be demonstrating impartiality instead making partisan,
racially charged, and/or conspiratorial comments publicly on social media.

Voters must be able to trust that our elections are being administered in a fair and even-handed way by
officials committed to neutrality and objectivity.

As Floridas chief election official and steward of the states democratic process, it is your responsibility to
hold accountable anyone who does not meet this high standard.

We hope you will rise to the occasion.

Thank you for your thoughtful consideration of our request. If you have any questions or need additional
information, please dont hesitate to contact us directly.

Sincerely,




Karl Frisch
Executive Director
Allied Progress

1220 L Street NW, Suite 100/364 Washington, D.C. 20005-4018

(855) ALD-PRGS toll-free (202) 205-5767 fax alliedprogress.org