Data shows odd clusters of Miami voters flipping to Republican Party

An unusual concentration of Miami voters flipped their political party affiliations during a recent four-month period, leading to suspicion on whether some had their affiliation changed without consent, the Miami Herald reported Friday.

After analyzing Miami-Dade voter registration data, the Herald found that 5,428 residents had their party affiliation changed between October and January. The registration changes where centered in often low-income, multi-family residential buildings. Of those, 103 voters in the twin Haley Sofge Towers public housing complex alone had their party affiliation switched to Republican.

The phenomenon is being looked into by county investigators after several longtime voters allege their political affiliation was changed — without their consent — after interacting with canvassers.

The matter first drew interest after WPLG Local 10 News released a report in December about an 84-year-old Little Havana resident who claimed his registration switched without his consent despite being a “lifelong Democrat.” Since then, several voters have spoken to media about being surprised by their registration change.

The Herald’s analysis found that more than half of all changes since October resulted in party affiliations switching to Republican, while just under 13% switched to Democrat. And, in the areas where concentrated party changes occurred (five or more people changed parties in a given address), 90% switched to Republican, and had an average age of 75.

Miami-Dade Democratic Sen. Annette Taddeo, who is running for governor, told the Herald she has received about 12 calls from voters who were shocked to receive new voter ID card in the mail identifying them as Republicans. On Friday, she requested an emergency investigation by the Florida Senate Ethics and Elections Committee.

Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernández Rundle’s office is investigating the claims

The Republican Party of Florida, however, has denied the unlawful allegations. In a statement, the party’s executive director Helen Aguirre Ferré said the party is taking additional measures to “avoid any possible confusion amongst voters choosing to change their party affiliation.”