Suppose that in the last two years, you didn’t show up to vote. Perhaps you couldn’t make it to the polls, despite your best efforts, because it conflicted with your unpredictable work or child care schedule. Or perhaps you decided to abstain from voting in protest because you weren’t pleased with any of the candidates. Or maybe you just forgot.
If you live in Ohio, your failure to vote — for whatever reason — for two years would have triggered a process that could have resulted in your being purged from the state’s voter rolls. Ohio’s process for purging voters who vote infrequently is precisely the kind of barrier to voting that violates federal law.
On Wednesday, the Court will hear oral arguments in his case, which challenges Ohio’s practice of “purging” people from its voter rolls for inactivity. Everyone who cares about the right to vote should pay close attention to how the justices approach this case. In keeping with federal protections, the Supreme Court should send a strong message that states should not purge eligible residents and voters from their rolls. Voting is a fundamental right and should not be a “use it or lose it” proposition.
Read the full piece here.
