Husted v. APRI Decision Is An Egregious Attempt to Undermine Our Democracy

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, the Supreme Court narrowly ruled 5-4 in the Husted v. APRI case, which will uphold the Ohio’s aggressive voter roll purges of people who vote infrequently. Ohio has purged more than 2 million voters in the past seven years, which is more than any other state in the nation. Voter purges disproportionately affect communities of color, veterans, low-income communities, young people, and disabled and elderly people. Today’s decision opens up the possibility of other states to follow Ohio’s lead in disenfranchising eligible Americans from voting.

In her own separate dissent, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor noted that today’s decision is “ignoring the history of voter suppression” in the U.S. She continued, “This purge program burdens the rights of eligible voters. At best, purged voters are forced to ‘needlessly re-register’ if they decide to vote in a subsequent election; at worst, they are prevented from voting at all because they never receive information about when and where elections are taking place.” Furthermore, in her dissent, Justice Sotomayor remarked that voter purging “disproportionately affected minority, low-income, disabled, and veteran voters.”

In response, Sierra Club Democracy Program Director Courtney Hight released the following statement:

"Today’s decision is an egregious attempt to undermine our democracy and prevent the American people from having their voices heard. Safeguarding voting rights and ensuring every eligible American has the ability to vote should never be a partisan issue. The Sierra Club is committed to continuing to fight for the voting rights of all Americans and working with our allies to protect the cornerstone of our democracy.”