Court: Ohio's process of purging voters from the rolls is unconstitutional

Ohio's method of removing voters from the registration rolls after six years of not voting was ruled unconstitutional Friday by a federal appeals court.

A lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Ohio and Demos, a public policy organization, asked that the controversial "supplemental process" come to a halt and the thousands of people kicked off the rolls but still eligible to vote be reinstated. They argued that this November, it's likely people who don't vote as often will hit the polls, and the process violates the National Voter Registration Act, which says states are only able to remove voters from the rolls if they request it, move, or die. Secretary of State Jon Husted says Ohio removes voters from the rolls to prevent fraud and keep the rolls current.

In June, ABC News reported many of the voters taken off the rolls lived in low-income neighborhoods or areas that typically voted Democrat. On Friday, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court decision in favor of Husted, who said in a statement he was "frustrated" by the ruling that "overturns 20 years of Ohio law and practice, which has been carried out by the last four secretaries of state, both Democrat and Republican." Mike Brickner, senior policy director of the ACLU of Ohio, said he is hopeful that a "plan will emerge soon to allow the tens of thousands of voters illegally purged from the rolls to vote in the upcoming presidential election."

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