What do a promising rookie for the Miami Heat, a systems analyst from Bulgaria, the wife of a Republican congressional candidate and Fidel Castro have in common?

They can't just show up Nov. 4 and fill out a regular ballot. Theirs are among 12,000 names statewide flagged under Florida's Voter Verification Law, a ''no match'' screening process embroiled in legal and political controversy.

The ID check spits out voter registrations that don't match driver's license or social security records. It has left voters on a list dominated by blacks, Hispanics and Democrats in a legal limbo -- unless they supply elections officials with additional proof they are who they say they are.

More than one-third of the people on the ''no match'' list live in Miami-Dade or Broward counties -- most notably Mario Chalmers, a Heat guard who starred in last year's Final Four college basketball championships.

Chalmers, who grew up in Alaska and played in Kansas, said his father successfully sorted out the ID mess.

''All I have to do is go vote,'' he said, ``so that made it easier for me.''

The process has not been such a breeze for everyone. A Miami Herald survey of 50 no-match voters showed that more than a third didn't know the list, or law, even existed.

The 2006 law, created by a Republican-led Legislature, was put on hold after civil rights groups filed a federal lawsuit last year. Florida Secretary of State Kurt Browning, a Republican, imposed a new version on Sept. 8 over objections from Democratic and voter activists who contend it targets minorities.

The screening snagged dubious registrations among 437,638 new filers statewide, including some 600 who were under-age and two people who told The Herald they weren't citizens.

The address given for one Fidel Castro, registered as a 53-year-old Republican, also was suspect: the Camillus House homeless shelter in Miami. A woman who answered a phone number provided on Castro's form replied in Spanish, ''Fidel lives in Cuba,'' then hung up.

But the law also flagged plenty of regular people -- particularly in South Florida, where Miami-Dade ranked No. 1 with 2,944 names and Broward No. 3 with 1,602.

A Herald phone survey of 50 no-match voters in the two counties suggests many don't know they are on the list or how to get off. More than a third reported either not receiving or overlooking letters from elections offices.

ID REQUIRED

Under state law, counties are supposed to send ''no match'' voters notice that they need to provide elections offices with a driver's license or Social Security card to receive a regular ballot. Otherwise, they could be forced to cast a ''provisional'' ballot subject to additional scrutiny and higher rates of rejection.

Kavin Walden, 23, who registered Oct. 6 when an activist approached him at a park in Liberty City, didn't know the screening snared him as ''Kevin,'' not Kavin.

''I've been waiting for my voter registration card,'' said Walden, a lifeguard at Jose Martí Park worried about health insurance for his 4-year-old daughter and newborn son. ``I don't want to miss this election.''

For people who were notified, the time and effort to resolve identification discrepancies varied. Some reported doing it with a single fax or e-mail, while others found the process slow and frustrating.

Angela Graham-West, wife of Allen West, a Broward Republican congressional candidate, was surprised she was flagged after she registered at the main elections office in Fort Lauderdale.

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