COLUMBUS — Ohio’s elections chief says a federal appeals court ruling effectively forces the swing state to place voters who have died or moved on its registration lists.
Republican Secretary of State Jon Husted defended the state’s process for maintaining its voter rolls on Friday after the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati found the procedure violates the National Voter Registration Act.
Husted says the ruling overturns 20 years of practice.
“It is one thing to strike down a longstanding procedure; it is another to craft a workable remedy. To that end, if the final resolution requires us to reinstate voting eligibility to individuals who have died or moved out of Ohio, we will appeal,” he said.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio and the public advocacy group Demos challenged the state’s process, saying it illegally drops registered voters based on their failure to vote.
“We are very happy that the court found that Secretary Husted’s process of purging voters in Ohio is illegal and must stop,” said ACLU senior policy director Mike Brickner.
“We hope that a plan will emerge soon to allow the tens of thousands of voters illegally purged from the rolls to vote in the upcoming presidential election,” he said.
The appeals court returned the case to a lower court to determine a remedy.
Husted has said the process used by Ohio for more than 20 years is constitutional and fully complies with state and federal laws.
In a July court brief, the Justice Department urged the appeals court to reverse the district judge’s decision.