Common Cause Ohio Condemns DOJ Flip-Flop to Support Ohio Voter Roll Purges

Statement of Catherine Turcer, Common Cause Ohio Executive Director

Common Cause Ohio’s response to the U.S. Department of Justice’s filing of an amicus brief in Husted v. A Phillip Randolph Institute, supporting Ohio effort to conduct voter roll purges if the have not voted in the last two years.

“It is bad enough that the Secretary of State is trying to strip thousands of Ohioans of the right to vote for no justifiable reason, but it is disgraceful that the U.S. Department of Justice will reverse course and support the effort. The DOJ has a long and proud history of protecting voting rights, but clearly under Jeff Sessions the department has reversed course. The brunt of these voter roll purges will fall on Ohio’s lowest income residents and will raise still more hurdles between them and the ballot box. Neither the state nor the federal government should be in the business of taking away the rights of Americans to vote without justification but that is unfortunately where we find ourselves.”