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Ohio Rep. Alicia Reece Responds to US Supreme Court
Accepting Case on Ohio Voting Rights
Special to The Truth
State Rep. Alicia Reece (D-Cincinnati) last week responded
to the U.S. Supreme Court’s announcement that it will hear a
case regarding last year’s cancellation of voting
registrations ordered by Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted.
“Because the right to vote is our most fundamental freedom
as Americans, it is deeply troubling that elected officials
charged with upholding our freedom have fought for the exact
opposite, blocking over one-million people from having their
voices heard,” said Reece. “By taking away their chance to
go to the polls, these Ohioans were denied their guaranteed
constitutional right. The ugliness of this issue is clear:
purging voters is anti-American, and it needs to be stopped
once and for all. I hope the highest court in our country
agrees and rules in favor of the people – against the
politicians.”
In 2015, according to Reuters, 144,000 voters were purged
for infrequent voting or moving in Cuyahoga, Franklin and
Hamilton counties alone. Statewide figures for the 2015
purge are not yet available.
Reece, who represents parts of Hamilton County, is a
long-time voting rights advocate and spoke at the 50th
Anniversary of the March on Washington.
She also leads the ongoing push for a Voter Bill of Rights,
a grassroots effort to amend the state constitution to
protect all Ohioans’ right to vote. The Voter Bill of Rights
would amend the state constitution to define the right to
vote as a fundamental right, establish early voting dates
and times, allow the legislature to prescribe proper
training and staffing for polling locations, create an
online voter registration system, protect against voter ID
requirements and voter registration tests, and include
safeguards that ensure provisional ballots are counted.
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