Ohio Secretary of State and National Voting Rights Act of 1993

by Jon Greenbaum

May 12, 2006: The Lawyers' Committee along with the National Voting Rights Institute (NVRI) notified Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell that the State of Ohio is not in compliance with the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA), and demanded that he take immediate steps to bring Ohio into compliance. The notice letter, which is a pre-requisite to filing a lawsuit under the NVRA, was sent on behalf of the Ohio chapter of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), a non-partisan organization that advocates for the rights of moderate to low-income people. Specifically, the May 12 notice letter advises Secretary Blackwell of systematic, statewide deficiencies in Ohio’s compliance with NVRA provisions that require a state's public assistance agencies to provide voter registration opportunities and assistance to their clients. Both anecdotal and statistical evidence confirm that Ohio's public assistance agencies are failing to provide the voter registration opportunities required by Section 7 of the NVRA. The Ohio notice letter marks the first in a number of collaborative efforts between the Lawyers' Committee, the NVRI and other groups to enforce Section 7 of the NVRA.

Read our letter to Secretary of State Blackwell here.