FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A South Florida federal judge has refused to halt the state’s attempt to purge a handful of potentially ineligible voters from the rolls.

U.S. District Judge William Zloch said in a 24-page ruling Thursday that Florida has a compelling interest in ensuring that non-citizens do not cast ballots. Zloch rejected a challenge to the purge by several voting-rights groups.

The state’s original purge list contained more than 2,600 names but was beset by inaccuracies. Last month a revised list of 198 names of possible non-citizens was produced. State officials asked elections supervisors to remove those names from the rolls but most said the process would take longer than the Nov. 6 election day.

Voting registration is being closely watched because Florida is a key swing state in the presidential election.

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