Civil Rights Panel Warns That New DOJ Stance Opens Door To Voter Disenfranchisement

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights expressed “serious concern” Friday with a recent Department of Justice reversal in a major case before the Supreme Court that challenges the way Ohio removes voters from its rolls.

In Ohio, officials send voters who haven’t voted in two years a confirmation notice. If they don’t respond, they’re purged from the rolls if they fail to vote for an additional four years. Under the Obama administration, the Department of Justice supported plaintiffs who claimed that Ohio’s process violated a 1993 federal law against purging voters because they don’t vote. But Justice Department lawyers recently filed a brief reversing that position and saying the process in Ohio is legal. Such a reversal, especially because DOJ had supported the plaintiffs in lower courts, is unusual.