The Independent View: Supreme Court OH Voter Roll Maintenance Decision On Hold

Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted sent a Letter to all 88 Boards of Elections, telling them to take No Action until further Notice on Maintaining Voter Rolls, which he says has been On Hold since the Lawsuit was filed in 2016.

Husted says Deleting Voters’ Registrations this Close to the General Election would Violate the National Voter Registration Act.

Ohio’s process involves sending Mailings to Voters who haven’t Cast Ballots in more than Two years, asking them if they are still at the Address attached to their Registration. If those voters don’t respond and then don’t Vote in the Four years following, those Voters’ Names are Deleted and they have to Re-Register.

This is the process defined in the National Voters Registration Act (NVRA) or the Motor Voter Law:

NVRA

A State may Remove the Name of a Person from the Voter Registration List due to a Change of Residence upon:

1) The Person’s Written Confirmation of a Change of Residence to a place outside the Jurisdiction.

2) Completion of the Notice Process described in Section 8(d) of the NVRA.

Section 8(d) of the NVRA sets forth a process for removing a person based on change of residence. This process requires sending a forwardable notice, in the form of a postage-prepaid and pre-addressed return card, on which the person may state his or her current address. The notice must include the language required by Section 8(d)(2) of the NVRA. For example, the notice must advise (1) that if the registrant did not change his or her residence, or changed residence but remained in the registrar’s jurisdiction, the registrant should complete and return the card not later than the voter registration deadline for the next election; (2) that if the card is not returned, affirmation or confirmation of the registrant's address may be required before the registrant is permitted to vote in a federal election during the period beginning on the date of the notice and ending on the day after the date of the second general election for Federal office that occurs after the date of the notice; and (3) that if the registrant does not vote in an election during that period the registrant's name will be removed from the list of eligible voters.

The jurisdiction may designate the registrant as inactive if the registrant fails to return the card by the voter registration deadline for the next election after the notice is sent.

The jurisdiction may remove the registrant from the voter rolls after sending the notice in two circumstances.

First, if the registrant confirms in writing, such as by completing and returning the notice card, that the
registrant has changed residence to a place outside the jurisdiction then the registrant can be removed from the list immediately.

Second, if the registrant fails to respond to the notice and fails to vote or to appear to vote in an election beginning on the date the notice is sent and ending on the day after the date of the second federal general election after the notice is sent, then the registrant can be removed from the list after that second federal general election.

It’s unclear how many People are in the Queue to be Removed from the Voting Rolls but the Number is thought to be at least in the Tens of Thousands.