TALLAHASSEE (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union and others are asking a federal court to block Florida’s push to remove voters from the rolls.

The lawsuit filed in Tampa on Friday says the purge cannot go forward unless it is approved by federal officials. The U.S. Department of Justice has already told the state the same thing.

Florida, at the urging of Republican Gov. Rick Scott, began looking for ineligible voters last year. An initial search turned up as many as 182,000 registered voters who may not be U.S. citizens.

Earlier this year state officials sent to local election officials a much smaller list of more than 2,600 voters and asked supervisors to start the process to remove them from the rolls. Supervisors have questioned the accuracy of the list.