Supreme Court to consider if citizens have the right not to vote [View all]

[Judi Lynn]

Joe Helle missed several elections while he was serving in the Army, so Ohio took away his right to vote.
KIRA LERNER
JAN 9, 2018, 11:31 AM

When Ohio resident Joe Helle returned in 2011 from Army tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, he was eager to get back to his community and routine. He had always voted since he was 18, so in August 2011 he went to his polling place where he intended to cast a ballot in a special election for local school issues.

Instead, he was told that his name did not appear on the voter rolls, and was forced to cast a provisional ballot that would not be counted. In November, the same thing occurred when he tried to vote in the general election.

When he contacted Ohio’s secretary of state, Helle learned of the state’s policy of purging from the rolls voters who do not participate in federal elections for two years. If voters are found to be inactive for two years, Ohio sends them a mailer to verify their address. If the voter does not respond and does not vote for two more years, he or she is purged from the rolls.

Though Helle requested an absentee ballot while he was in Iraq, he said he can’t be sure that the mail ever made its way back to Ohio. And he said he never received the address verification mailer. Because he missed federal elections for several years, he was effectively disenfranchised when he went to the polls in 2011.

More:
https://thinkprogress.org/supreme-court-ohio-purge-ff8877927396/