Ohio Voter Purge Ruled Unconstitutional In Federal Court

An Ohio voter purge which removed the names of tens of thousands of Ohio voters from the voter rolls has been ruled unconstitutional by a federal court of appeals, just weeks before the November Presidential election. Ohio activists claimed that the voter purge process violated the National Voter Registration Act, a position validated by the Friday decision from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.

The voter purge process in Ohio consisted of removing registered voters from the voter rolls after six years of not voting, regardless of whether or not they were still eligible. Under the National Voter Registration Act, a state can only remove voters if they request to be removed, pass away, or move out of the state. According to reporting from ABC News, those removed by the Ohio voter purge were disproportionately from low income neighborhoods or neighborhoods that tended to vote for the Democratic Party.

The lawsuit, which was filed to halt the Ohio voter purge and get the names of those taken off the rolls reinstated, was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio and policy organization Demos. Named in the suit was Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted, who presides over all state elections. Husted has defended the voter purge policy in the past, citing the prevention of election fraud as a main concern.

The suit also alleged that many Ohio voters who have not been engaged in the political process in past years will likely go to the polls this November to cast their ballots in a presidential race that is the most contentious in recent memory. These voters, the suit argues, deserve the chance to be heard in an election of this magnitude. Ohio, which controls 18 votes in the Electoral College, is a vitally important swing state. Winning over Ohio voters is a key part of the campaign strategies of both Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican nominee Donald Trump. Mike Brickner, a policy director for the Ohio ACLU, applauded the decision.

“We don’t believe that any voters should be removed from the rolls simply because they haven’t voted in a few elections… 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,” Brickner said in a statement.

The Hill reports that Secretary Husted, who won the suit in a lower court decision that was overruled by the Friday Court of Appeals ruling, has a very different view.

“This ruling overturns 20 years of Ohio law and practice, which has been carried out by the last four secretaries of state, both Democrat and Republican,” Husted said. “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.”

The Ohio voter purge case has been sent to a district court to outline a plan to remedy the situation and reinstate voters. It remains to be seen if the tens of thousands of people excised from the rolls will be able to vote in the upcoming election, however, which takes place nation-wide on November 8. If Secretary Husted appeals the eventual plan on grounds that it would place dead Ohioans or Ohioans that have moved out of state back on lists of registered voters, the voter purge could remain in place as the appeals process drags on past the current election cycle.

[Featured Image by Tony Dejak/AP Images]