OH Mass Voter Purge

Advocates for Individuals experiencing Homelessness, are asking Ohio Not to move forward with their Scheduled Voter Purge before the November Election.

About 160,000 Ohioans are about to Lose their Vote on July 22nd, 2024. This Elimination should only impact Inactive and Infrequent Voters, but Voting Rights Advocates say they only have Two weeks to Fix a Civil Rights Issue.

“The system that the state of Ohio currently has for voters is systematically disenfranchising our most vulnerable people,” said Cid Standifer with the Northeast Ohio Voter Advocates (NOVA).

NOVA highlighted 500 Registered Voters who are set to be Removed. What they all have in common, the Voters are Homeless and Registered to Vote at Shelters in Cleveland.

Lutheran Metropolitan Ministries runs One of, if Not the Largest, Men’s Shelters were nearly 400 People Registered at their Address will be Purged.

The Cuyahoga County Board of Elections (CCBOE), said they put more than 130 People on the Purge List, because the Mail that was sent to the Shelters to Confirm the Voter Lived there, was Returned “Undeliverable” or the Board didn’t get a Response. More than 250 Others had Voter Information that “didn’t match BMV records.”

It is Unclear what Information didn’t Match State Records, since Boards don’t need to Report that.

The State of Ohio says this is how Homeless People can Vote. They can use a Homeless Sshelter or a Service Center Address where they’ll accept Mail.

The Purge impacts Ohioans of All Income Levels. If you Change your Mailing Address, don’t Vote for Four years, and don’t respond to Letters from your BOE, your Voter Status could be Canceled. Even if you don’t move but Don’t Vote for Six years, you could also be Eliminated.

While Purges are Controversial, Case Western Reserve University Elections Law Professor Atiba Ellis says they have a Purpose. The U.S. Supreme Court in 2018 Ruled in a 5-4 Decision that although Ohio does Purge Infrequent Voters from the Registration Rolls, its Mailing Process is Sufficient grounds to get Rid of the Individual.

“Federal law tends to require that states make — what basically is a good faith effort in terms of maintaining accurate lists,” the Professor added. “If your database becomes too big, it becomes difficult to manage.”

Perlatti said that they aren’t trying to Remove any Legitimate Voter or Disenfranchise Individuals facing Homelessness but say they are Bound-by-Law to follow this Process.

“We definitely don’t wanna promote that [disenfranchisement], but at the same time, everyone needs to have a registration address so we’re able to precinct them and know which ballot to give them,” the Director said. “If they move to a different shelter or what it may be, we want to make sure that they get registered there.”

There is at least One Person who Lives at a Shelter who Registered to Vote in 2024, yet they are still on the Purge List. Perlatti said He would Check this.

Still, Standifer wants to know how to Fix this Problem since Voting is a Civil Right. “Where do we go to find these people and let them know that they’re on the purge list?” Standifer asked incredulously.

Perlatti said that this News Story will hopefully help get the word out there, so that People know they are on the Purge List. Also, so Shelter Officials can Alert their Clients.

“We should eliminate the voter purge process,” Standifer said. “It takes people with messy lives — in difficult situations — and it takes them off the rolls.”

The Full List of about-to-be Canceled Registrations can be Viewed at the SOS’s Registration Readiness Website.

If you find out you are on the List, you will need to Update your Voter Registration. You can also go to the Local BOE or give them a Call to ask about your Status. If you aren’t on the Purge List, but haven’t Voted in a while, Check if you are still Registered.

You can Re-Register to Vote even after you’ve been Purged, and still be able to Vote in the Presidential Race. The Purge is on July 22nd, and the Deadline to Register to Vote is Oct. 7th.

LaRose is supposed to put out a List of Everyone He is Removing from the Rolls before the Voter Registration Deadline, which He did this year, but Didn’t Last year.

LaRose originally planned to Remove about 140,000 Names, but around 16,000 Voters were Mislabeled, according to Democrats. And this isn’t the First time. Back in 2019, the Secretary spoke to WEWS about the Challenges that came from the Last Voter Sweep.

“Over 10,000 voters have said ‘no I still want to be a registered voter in Ohio’ and so they’ve taken action, they’ve gone on our website or filled out the form and sent it in,” LaRose said at the time. That List ended up gaining 30,000 additional Voters.

A Review of the Work of One Vendor, found that more than 1,400 Names were Incorrectly added to the List, sparking Calls from the League of Women Voters and other Groups, to Delay the 2019 Removal.

Numerous Activist Groups have reached out to WEWS to assert Initial concerns with this List, arguing about Inaccurate Names.

“It should not be [voters’] job to not be removed,” State Rep. Bride Sweeney (D-14th District, Cleveland) said last year. “It’s our job not to arbitrarily remove people who’ve done the work of registering themselves in the state.”

The State isn’t trying to Remove any Legitimate Voter, LaRose has said, but Undergoing this Process keeps Ohio Elections Safe.









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