Ohio Secretary of State Sued to Update Voter Rolls

Judicial Watch, a conservative watch dog organization, has filed suit against Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted for failing to keep accurate voting rolls. In the complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Judicial Watch asks the court to find Husted in violation of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) and to comply with the act which requires the Secretary to “conduct a general program that makes a reasonable effort to remove the names of ineligible voters from the official lists of eligible voters by reason of – (A) the death of the registrant; or (B) a change in the residence of the registrant.”
Using Census records and voter registration data, Judicial Watch determined that the number of names on voter rolls exceeds 105 percent of each county’s voting age population in both Auglaize County and Wood County. In Morrow County, the number of voter registrations exceeds 100 percent of the voting age population.
In 31 other counties, the number of registered voters is between 90 and 100 percent of the voting age population. Overall, 34 of Ohio’s 88 counties have a number of registered voters far in excess of the 71 percent average recorded in the 2008 presidential election. Judicial Watch argues that these numbers paint a clear picture of negligence with regard to Husted’s NVRA Section 8 responsibilities.