WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether Ohio wrongfully purged eligible voters from the state’s registration list.
The justices on Tuesday agreed to hear an appeal from state officials defending the process against challengers who say it’s illegal.
Civil liberties groups had challenged the state’s program for removing thousands of people from voter rolls based on their failure to vote in recent elections. A federal appeals court ruled last year that the process violates the National Voter Registration Act.
Ohio officials argue that the process used by Ohio for more than 20 years is constitutional and fully complies with state and federal laws.
“Maintaining the integrity of the voter rolls is essential to conducting an election with efficiency and integrity. The decision by the Court to hear this case is encouraging. I remain confident that once the Justices review this case they will rule to uphold the decades-old process that both Republicans and Democrats have used in Ohio to maintain our voter rolls as consistent with federal law.” -Ohio Secy. of State Jon Husted
Groups challenging the practice said Ohio was unfairly disenfranchising eligible Ohio voters.
“Ohio’s purge of eligible voters has served as a powerful mechanism of voter suppression. Ohio has purged hundreds of thousands of people from the voter rolls simply because they have exercised their right not to vote in a few elections. This purge process violates the National Voter Registration Act. We are confident that the Supreme Court will uphold the correct decision from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, and will ultimately ensure that eligible Ohio voters may not be stricken from the rolls.” -Freda Levenson, legal director, ACLU of Ohio
Husted defends the process, saying its aim is to remove outdated and inaccurate registrations, including those of deceased voters and individuals who no longer live in Ohio.