Today’s Supreme Court decision rejecting Republican attempts to disenfranchise new voters in Ohio is a clear victory for voters and for democracy. This effort by Republican operatives was about just one thing – suppressing record turnout among new and younger voters in Ohio. Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner is to be commended for standing strong for the rights of every citizen to vote.

The AFL-CIO and the Ohio AFL-CIO joined with others in petitioning the Supreme Court to overturn a lower court ruling on a lawsuit filed by the Ohio Republican party which would have set in motion events that could have left as many as 200,000 Ohio voters without a voice on Election Day. In an amicus brief to the Court supporting Brunner’s position, the AFL-CIO argued that the Ohio Republican Party has no right to file the lawsuit under federal law and the lawsuit would allow the Republican Party and courts to impinge on the authority of the Secretary of State to run elections. In its ruling, the Supreme Court agreed with that assessment, tossing the politically motivated lawsuit.

 The AFL-CIO is also running an extensive voter protection program aimed at preventing voting rights violations in nine states – Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Virginia, Wisconsin, New Mexico, Colorado and Nevada. Unfortunately, Republican-led attempts to silence new voters are not going away. We are seeing disenfranchisement efforts in many states already, and they are likely to intensify as we move closer to November 4.

We all must remain vigilant in demanding that every eligible voter who wants to cast a vote is able to do so this Election Day. Anything less would undermine the principles of democracy that our free elections are meant to celebrate.

Contact: Steve Smith (202) 637-5018