WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Monday, June 11, the Supreme Court decided Husted v. A. Philip Randolph Institute, a case challenging an Ohio voter purge process triggered solely by a citizen not voting during a single two-year federal election cycle. The Supreme Court ruled that states may purge voter rolls of registered voters who fail to vote and who do not respond to a warning.

Congresswoman Terri A. Sewell (D-AL) releases the following statement:

“Voting is not a use it or lose it right. It is a permanent right guaranteed by our Constitution,” said Rep. Sewell. “The Supreme Court’s misguided decision today opens the door for states to disenfranchise voters just because they did not cast their ballot. Already we have seen the impact of this voter suppression tactic in Ohio where more than 7,000 votes were thrown out because of the state’s recent voter purge. In our democracy, your vote is your voice, and we cannot allow lawmakers to silence the voice of the people. Today, we must recommit ourselves to fighting voter suppression tactics, from voter purges to restrictive voter ID laws, wherever they exist.”

Rep. Sewell is the lead sponsor of the Voting Rights Advancement Act (VRAA), legislation which would restore protections for voters in states with a recent history of discrimination. Five years after the Supreme Court’s decision to gut the Voting Rights Act in Shelby County v. Holder, the VRAA addresses a wave of voter ID laws, racial gerrymandering, and other voter suppression tactics enacted at the state level.

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Rep. Terri A. Sewell (D-AL) is serving her fourth term representing Alabama’s 7th Congressional district. She sits on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and was recently appointed to the powerful House Ways and Means Committee. Sewell is a Chief Deputy Whip and serves on the prestigious Steering and Policy Committee of the Democratic Caucus. She is also a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, and serves as Vice Chair of the Congressional Voting Rights Caucus, and Vice Chair of Outreach for the New Democrat Coalition.