Klobuchar Statement on Supreme Court Decision to Uphold Ohio’s Voter Purge Law

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ranking Member of the Senate Rules Committee which has oversight jurisdiction over federal elections, today released the below statement on the Supreme Court’s decision in Husted v. A. Philip Randolph Institute to  uphold Ohio’s controversial purge of voter rolls.  

“We should be doing everything we can to encourage participation in elections and strengthen voting rights, yet today’s Supreme Court decision is going to allow states to make it harder – not easier – for more Americans to vote. Justice Sotomayor gets it right in her dissent on how the Court’s decision today sanctions the purging of the very minority, low-income, disabled and veteran voters Congress was trying to protect in the National Voter Registration Act.”

Throughout her time in the Senate, Klobuchar has been fighting to protect voting rights for all Americans. In November, she introduced the Register America to Vote Act to require every state to develop and implement a process that automatically registers eligible citizens to vote when they turn 18. She has also introduced the Helping State and Local Governments Prevent Cyber Attacks Act, which streamlines voter registration for Americans that move and increases access to online voter registration. In December, Klobuchar introduced The Students Voicing Opinions in Today’s Elections (VOTE) Act, which create a pilot program to educate high school seniors about registering to vote. In addition, Klobuchar and Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) have introduced the Same Day Registration Act to require states to allow people to register to vote on the same day as the election.

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