WASHINGTON— The Supreme Court is zeroing in on Ohio as the justices examine state efforts to pare their voting rolls by targeting people who haven’t voted in a while.
The justices are hearing arguments Wednesday in a case from Ohio, which is among a handful of states that use voters’ inactivity to trigger a process that could lead to their removal from voter rolls.
A ruling for Ohio could prompt other states to adopt the practice, which generally pits Democrats against Republicans.
Opponents of the Ohio process say federal law prohibits using voting inactivity to trigger purges.
Ohio State University Moritz College of Law professor Daniel Tokaji, co-counsel in the case of Husted v. A. Philip Randolph Institute, argues that Ohio’s policies are unconstitutional and violate the Voting Rights Act.
“The Supreme Court has long declared the right to vote fundamental,” he said at a news conference Tuesday. “None of our rights or interests as citizens are safe, unless we are able to vote on equal terms with our fellow citizens.”
Opponents say Ohio’s policy disproportionately hurts African Americans and other groups that tend to vote for Democratic candidates. A federal appeals court sided with the challengers and Secretary of State Jon Husted has asked the Supreme Court to overturn that decision.
“Maintaining accurate and up-to-date voter rolls is essential to preserving the integrity of our elections in Ohio. I remain hopeful that the nation’s highest court will overturn the Sixth Circuit’s 2-1 ruling, so that Ohio may continue to properly maintain its voter rolls to conduct fair and honest elections in which all Ohioans can have confidence,” Husted said.
Ohio voters who do not cast a ballot for two years are sent a mailer asking if they wish to remain registered and, if there is no response and they do not vote for another four years, they are stricken from the rolls.
It is estimated that happened to about 1.2 million voters between 2011 and 2016, according to the liberal-leaning think-tank ProgressOhio.
Seventeen other states signed a brief supporting Ohio’s case and the Trump administration reversed the position taken by the Obama administration and is backing Ohio in the case.
The Supreme Court is expected to rule on the case in the next few months.
Supreme Court voting cases often split the liberal and conservative justices.