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Federal Court Rules Ohio Can Continue To Remove Voters From Rolls

Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted speaks about cleaning voter rolls
Andy Chow
Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted speaks about cleaning voter rolls

A federal court has ruled Secretary of State Jon Husted can continue to remove voters from Ohio’s voter rolls. Listen to the story here.

The Republican Secretary of State has removed about a million people from the rolls so far since 2011. The court says he can continue the practice which he says follows state and federal law and removes dead, inactive and duplicate voters.

“It is important for us to maintain the voter rolls, to make sure elections run smoothly. If you do that, that means more people get to vote where they really live and they won’t be casting provisional ballots.”

But Democratic State Representative Kathleen Clyde worries legitimate voters are unknowingly being kicked off the rolls.

“They don’t get any notice that they’ve been purged before it happens. So a lot of people think they are fine. In fact, they show up to vote and end up voting a provisional ballot that ends up being rejected.”

Clyde says the group that filed this lawsuit plans to appeal the court decision.

Copyright 2016 The Statehouse News Bureau

Jo Ingles is a professional journalist who covers politics and Ohio government for the Ohio Public Radio and Television for the Ohio Public Radio and Television Statehouse News Bureau. She reports on issues of importance to Ohioans including education, legislation, politics, and life and death issues such as capital punishment.