Gov. Rick Scott said Thursday that his administration won't appeal a federal court ruling that the state illegally tried to purge the voter rolls of suspected noncitizens too close to the 2012 presidential election.

The announcement was a victory for the League of Women Voters and other voter advocacy organizations that accused Scott of seeking to disenfranchise minority voters who likely were inclined to support President Barack Obama.

"Our goal continues to be 100 percent participation by eligible voters and zero percent fraud," Scott's office said in a news release. "Florida voters deserve an election system they can be proud of."

A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta ruled last April that the Scott-controlled elections apparatus in the Florida Department of State sought to identify and remove noncitizens from the voter rolls in advance of the 2012 election. Federal law bars states from "systematic" removals of voters less than 90 days before a federal primary or general election.