The lower court had held that Ohio’s “public interest is being served” and that the “procedures of maintaining the voter registration rolls ensure the integrity of the election process”.
Advertisement
A 2-1 decision by the Cincinnati-based appeals court overturned a decision by a federal district court earlier this year, which found Husted was not illegally deleting voters.
Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted, a Republican, directed his office to remove voters from eligibility if they had not voted in a federal election since 2008.
It wasn’t clear exactly how many now active voters have been affected by the purge process, but estimates are between tens and hundreds of thousands.
Husted said the ruling “undermines voter confidence and opens the door to fraud”, he added.
OH has used the so-called “supplemental process” for more than 20 years, says Husted, the state’s elections chief. The Justice Department had urged the appeals court to reverse the district judge’s decision.
While Judge Eugene Siler, a 1991 appointee of Republican President George H.W. Bush, partly agreed with the majority’s ruling, he dissented by finding Mr. Husted had made been reasonable in his approach.
The ruling by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals is a victory for the American Civil Liberties Union of OH and other groups who had argued the program violated the National Voter Registration Act and expressed concern that the purge would effect “many thousands” of OH voters. “The secretary of state can not purge people simply because they haven’t voted in three federal elections”.
“We’re pleased the court recognized that voter inactivity is not sufficient reason to block properly registered voters from making their voice heard in this year’s presidential election”, said Carrie Davis, executive director of the League of Women Votes of Ohio.
“We’re pleased the court recognized that voter inactivity is not sufficient reason to block properly registered voters from making their voice heard in this year’s Presidential Election”, Carrie Davis, executive director of the League of Women Votes of OH, said in a released statement. He has said it is constitutional and fully complies with state and federal laws.
At issue in the OH case is a policy of purging voters who fail to cast ballots over a six-year period and don’t respond to a letter from the state asking if they have moved. Brickner says the number is between tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands.
State Rep. Kathleen Clyde, D-Kent, a critic of Husted’s voter purges, said in a statement, ” Today’s decision is a victory for voters, voting rights and common sense. There they can download the federal post card application, register to vote and request an absentee ballot.
Advertisement
Go online to MyOhioVote.com/VoterToolkit to check your voter registration status, find your polling location, view a sample ballot and track your absentee ballot.
