Voting decision is a victory for ballot integrity

We live in an unprecedented era of mobility. Typical 30-year-old Americans have moved four times since reaching voting age. They go away to college, change jobs and get married.

Americans will move a total of 11 times in their lives. Often they assume, wrongly, that their voter registration moves with them. One in eight voter registrations is either invalid or inaccurate. Improper and duplicate registrations threaten the system’s integrity.

Americans should applaud Monday’s Supreme Court decision upholding Ohio’s law for keeping voting lists accurate. Voting is a sacred right for people in a free society. The National Voter Registration Act requires states to implement voter registration systems to protect that right. Ohio is serious about its duty to ensure accurate registrations. Monday’s decision allows other states to follow Ohio’s lead.

Voter registration officials have an extremely challenging job to both maintain accurate voter lists and make registration widely available to eligible citizens. States must use “reasonable” means to make sure registered voters have not moved.

In Ohio, officials notify individuals who haven’t voted in two years that they need to confirm their address. Failure to do so starts a process that leads to registration cancellation only after the voter does not vote in two consecutive national elections — a total of six years. The court properly concluded that Ohio’s process follows federal law.

All eligible Americans should be able to vote. But voters must be vigilant about keeping their voter registration up to date. It is simple to confirm one’s registration in every state. While no system is perfect, Ohio’s takes reasonable measures to ensure that all voters are eligible.

The dissenting justices object to the Ohio Legislature’s policy decisions. But the job of judging is to apply the law as written and not to second-guess the people’s representatives. Monday’s decision is a victory for ballot integrity.