The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on Wednesday in a case challenging Ohio's policy of purging infrequent voters from its registration rolls. The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Ohio's policy of dropping voters who don't vote regularly but are otherwise eligible violates federal law, siding with the American Civil Liberties Union and Demos over Ohio's Republican government. The Obama administration had sided with the plaintiffs but the Trump administration changed sides and is backing Ohio in the case, Husted v. A. Philip Randolph Institute.
The Supreme Court is expected to hand down its ruling in late June, and if it sides with Ohio, other states would probably enact similar voter policies. Seventeen states, most of them led by Republicans, are backing Ohio in the case, while 12 mostly Democratic states want the justices to rule Ohio's law unconstitutional. A Reuters analysis in 2016 found that Ohio was purging about twice as many voters in Democratic-leaning neighborhoods versus GOP-leaning neighborhoods in Ohio's three largest counties, and if the Sixth Circuit appellate court hadn't intervened, more than 7,500 eligible voters wouldn't have been able to cast ballots in 2016.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
5 sunny-side up cartoons about egg pricesCartoons Artists take on inflated prices, double standards, and more
-
'Swimming in the sky' in northern BrazilThe Week Recommends The pools of Lençóis Maranhenses are clear and blue
-
An ailing Pope Francis – and the vultures circling in the VaticanTalking Point Caught between his progressive inner circle and an influx of conservatism, the Holy Father should 'brace' himself for a battle
-
ABC News to pay $15M in Trump defamation suitSpeed Read The lawsuit stemmed from George Stephanopoulos' on-air assertion that Trump was found liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll
-
Judge blocks Louisiana 10 Commandments lawSpeed Read U.S. District Judge John deGravelles ruled that a law ordering schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms was unconstitutional
-
ATF finalizes rule to close 'gun show loophole'Speed Read Biden moves to expand background checks for gun buyers
-
Hong Kong passes tough new security lawSpeed Read It will allow the government to further suppress all forms of dissent
-
France enshrines abortion rights in constitutionspeed read It became the first country to make abortion a constitutional right
-
Texas executes man despite contested evidenceSpeed Read Texas rejected calls for a rehearing of Ivan Cantu's case amid recanted testimony and allegations of suppressed exculpatory evidence
-
Supreme Court wary of state social media regulationsSpeed Read A majority of justices appeared skeptical that Texas and Florida were lawfully protecting the free speech rights of users
-
Greece legalizes same-sex marriageSpeed Read Greece becomes the first Orthodox Christian country to enshrine marriage equality in law
