Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose Purged Nearly 160,000 People From the State’s Voter Rolls

Nearly 160,000 people were recently purged from Ohio’s voter rolls — meaning they currently can’t vote in the upcoming presidential election. 

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose removed 154,995 inactive and out-of-state voters from the Statewide Voter Registration Database, according to his office. 

“Every Ohioan, regardless of their political views, should care about accurate voter rolls,” LaRose said in a statement. “Diligent list maintenance helps prevent voter fraud and ensures the voice of the voters is heard on Election Day.” 

There are a couple of reasons why a once registered voter might have been removed from the voter rolls — 

If they filled out a change-of-address form with the U.S. Postal Service signaling they have moved. They have not voted at their registered address in the past four years after being marked for removal by a county’s voter registration system.

The voter purge is part of Ohio’s process of updating its voter rolls and getting rid of voters who moved out-of-state or died. 

All 88 county boards of elections had to collect and submit the data to LaRose’s office earlier this year. LaRose published a list of inactive voter registrations who were eligible to be removed from the voter rolls earlier this summer, giving folks on the list a chance to take action. 

County boards of election had until July 22 to finish their voter purge. 

Ohio civil rights organizations recently said LaRose’s voter purge “disproportionately targets voters of color,” — saying more than half of Ohio voters who might be purged from the state’s voter rolls are registered in counties where a majority of the population is people of color. 

A person who’s voter registration has been purged can regain their ability to vote by reregistering on the Secretary’s registration website or by visiting their county board of elections.

The deadline to register to vote in the Nov. 5 election is Oct. 7.

Originally published by the Ohio Capital Journal. Republished here with permission.