WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on the Supreme Court’s consideration of Ohio’s effort to reduce voting rolls by targeting inactive voters (all times local):
12:31 p.m.
Ohio’s Secretary of State is defending his state’s process for pruning its voter rolls after oral arguments about the system at the Supreme Court.
Jon Husted said Wednesday outside the court that his state’s process balances the state’s need to keep voter rolls up-to-date with ensuring people have the opportunity to vote.
Republican-led Ohio is one of a handful of states that use voters’ inactivity to trigger a process that could lead to their removal from voter rolls. Registered voters who don’t vote for two years are sent notices. If they don’t return them and fail to vote for four more years, they’re removed.
Husted says the system has been in place for over 20 years, under Democratic and Republican secretaries of state. He says the state’s elections system makes it “easy to vote and hard to cheat.”
__
11:15 a.m.
The Supreme Court appears sympathetic to states that seek to prune their voting rolls by targeting people who haven’t voted in a while.
The justices heard arguments Wednesday in a case from Ohio. It’s among a handful of states that use voters’ inactivity to trigger a process that could lead to their removal from voter rolls. A ruling for Ohio could prompt other states to adopt the practice, which generally pits Democrats against Republicans.
Justice Anthony Kennedy said states are “trying to protect their voter rolls.” Kennedy’s vote often is decisive in voting cases that otherwise split conservative and liberal justices.
Justice Stephen Breyer also asked questions that suggested he too could side with Ohio.
Opponents of the Ohio process say federal law prohibits using voting inactivity to trigger purges. A federal appeals court sided with the challengers.
___
1 a.m.
The Supreme Court is diving into state efforts to pare their voting rolls by targeting people who haven’t voted in a while.
The justices are hearing argument Wednesday in a case from Republican-led Ohio. It’s among a handful of states that use voters’ inactivity to trigger a process that could lead to their removal from voter rolls. A ruling for Ohio could prompt other states to adopt the practice, which generally pits Democrats against Republicans.
The Trump administration reversed the position taken by the Obama administration and is backing Ohio’s method for pruning its voter rolls.
Opponents of the Ohio process say federal law prohibits using voting inactivity to trigger purges. A federal appeals court sided with the challengers.
Supreme Court voting cases often split the liberal and conservative justices.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.