In the United States, if you don’t buy a gun for several years, you do not lose your Second Amendment right to bear arms. If you never write a letter to the editor or participate in a street demonstration, you retain your full First Amendment rights to free speech. If you skip church for years on end, the government cannot stop you from finally attending a service.
But according to a decision by the Supreme Court this week, if you fail to cast a ballot, you can be removed from the voter rolls and denied your fundamental right to vote. [...]
The court’s decision is a major setback for voting rights. Ohio’s secretary of state has already called on other states to follow his lead. President Trump, who has pushed the lie that he lost the popular vote because millions of people voted illegally, celebrated on Twitter.
But the fight for voting rights is too important to give up. At Demos, we will continue to litigate to stop unlawful purges, including on the basis that they are discriminatory — an issue not resolved by the Husted decision. And Americans must also take to the halls of their state legislatures to demand the repeal of purge laws and the enactment of pro-voter measures, such as automatic voter registration and early voting. Now more than ever, those who favor an inclusive democracy must make their voices heard.