The DOJ is no longer standing up for voting rights in the courtroom
Breaking down what the DOJ’s actions mean for your access to the ballot box, and why our fight for voting rights in the court of public opinion is more important than ever.
By Leigh Chapman, Senior Policy Advisor at Let America Vote
This week, the Department of Justice switched sides on an Ohio voter purge case that’s headed to the Supreme Court. Despite not being widely reported, this reversal could lead to states kicking eligible voters off the rolls in huge numbers.
In the past, the DOJ has long taken the position that purges like Ohio’s violated federal law. On Monday, August 7, the DOJ submitted an amicus brief in the case in Husted v. A. Philip Randolph Institute which Election Law Blog’s Justin Levitt noted as, “quite rare for the DOJ to change course after a filing a brief in the court of appeals.” The unexpected change in position actually endorses Ohio’s purge activity.
Ohio uses a process where voters who haven’t voted in two years and failed to respond to a confirmation notice are removed from the rolls even if the voter hasn’t moved and is still eligible to vote. This extreme “use it or lose it” policy is what will be litigated before the Supreme Court.
The endorsement of voter purges by the Trump Administration is dangerous and it’s an attack on our democracy. Purges make voting less accessible — and the sort of mass voter purges done by Ohio make it harder for certain types of people to vote, like veterans, minorities, students, and low-income Americans. Also, if purges aren’t carried out with surgical precision, it’s likely that eligible voters who meet all criteria are swept up and kicked off the rolls by accident.
Now that the DOJ has turned its back on voting rights in the courtroom, we must win this fight in the court of public opinion.
Let America Vote is creating political consequences for politicians who restrict voting rights by knocking on doors and talking to people about why we need to elect leaders who will protect your access to the ballot box.
