Supreme Court: Exercise your right to vote or you may lose it

If you’re a flakey or uncommunicative voter, you won’t be a voter at all according to a Ohio election law that was just upheld in the U.S. Supreme Court.

The 5-4 decision allows state officials to remove voters from the polls if they have not voted for two consecutive elections and/or have not responded to notices from election officials.

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The judges ruled that it is not a violation of federal law to purge voter systems of dormant voters.

According to The Dispatch, this legislation was created in 1993 as sort of a housekeeping device to determine if voters had left the state.

If a voter doesn’t cast a ballot for two consecutive elections, he or she receives a notice from their county board of elections to verify their address.

If that correspondence goes without reply, the voter will be sent several more notice including absentee ballots and a change of address card.

If the voter does not reply to any of the notices and does not vote in a six-year period, their name will be purged from the list of eligible voters.

He or she can reregister to vote to regain eligibility, reports The Dispatch.

The ACLU of Ohio tweeted about today’s ruling saying, “This is a major blow to democracy.”

Ohioans -today’s decision was a set back for voters, but there is some good news. We can register to vote online! If you think you were purged, or have moved since you voted last, please update your registration! Register by October 9 to vote in November! https://t.co/3w775Q4Gev pic.twitter.com/qPvIFgLch8
— ACLU of Ohio (@acluohio) June 11, 2018

Senator Sherrod Brown’s reaction echoed that of the ACLU of Ohio, saying “Ohio should be working to make voting easier, not harder. Instead, today’s decision empowers Ohio to further strip away the right to vote for thousands of Ohioans”

Ohio should be working to make voting easier, not harder. Instead, today’s decision empowers Ohio to further strip away the right to vote for thousands of Ohioans, threatening the integrity of our state’s election process. https://t.co/NkiyzxnKH5
— Sherrod Brown (@SenSherrodBrown) June 11, 2018