The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today against Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted in a case involving removal of names from voter registration rolls. 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. The case will now go back to the U.S. District Court for reconsideration. “The secretary’s newly issued form does nothing to correct the fact that Ohio has, for years, been removing voters from the rolls because they failed to respond to forms that are blatantly non-compliant,” the court said. Read the full decision here.
Husted reacted to the ruling by saying the order will put dead people back on the active voting rolls. “With today’s ruling, the court will effectively force us to put voters back on the voter rolls who have died or long since moved to another address,” Husted said in a statement.
“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. It also reverses a federal court settlement from just two years ago that required exactly the opposite action.” Husted said the ruling “undermines voter confidence and opens the door to fraud,” he added.
He said the state will appeal the decision if the district court reconsideration.
Full Article: Ohio’s process for removing voters from rolls is illegal, court rules | The Columbus Dispatch.