A week ago, Voter Purge in ground-zero Ohio was posted here, detailing the purge that resulted in a dramatic decrease  from over 585,000 voters in 2000 to 519,048 today, in Hamilton County. Sam Seder, from Air America's Majority Report picked on the purge and asked Ohio's Jerry Springer what it was all about. Anyway, the response from the  Hamilton County chair was bleak.  The revised law provides in part that registration can be cancelled it you fail to respond to a notice by mail, and vote at least once every four consecutive years containing two federal elections, or update your registration. This law, which I've placed in the extended entry, was put into place since 1995, when Republican Voinovich was Governor. It seems a very strict and status-quo rule, but that's the way that a Republican-run state likes their laws.

§ 3503.21. Events resulting in cancellation of registration; procedures to verify or correct change of address. (A)  The registration of a registered elector shall be canceled upon the occurrence of any of the following:   (1) The filing by a registered elector of a written request with a board of elections, on a form prescribed by the secretary of state and signed by the elector, that his registration be canceled. The filing of such a request does not prohibit an otherwise qualified elector from reregistering to vote at any time.   (2) The filing of a notice of the death of the registered elector as provided in section 3503.18 of the Revised Code;   (3) The conviction of the registered elector of a felony under the laws of this state, any other state, or the United States as provided in section 2961.01 of the Revised Code;   (4) The adjudication of incompetency of the registered elector for the purpose of voting as provided in section 5122.301 [5122.30.1] of the Revised Code;   (5) The change of residence of the registered elector to a location outside the county of registration in accordance with division (B) of this section;   (6) The failure of the registered elector, after he has been mailed a confirmation notice, to do either of the following:   (a) Respond to such a notice and vote at least once during a period of four consecutive years, which period shall include two general federal elections;   (b) Update his registration and vote at least once during a period of four consecutive years, which period shall include two general federal elections.   (B)  The secretary of state shall prescribe procedures to identify and cancel the registration in a prior county of residence of any registrant who changes his voting residence to a location outside his current county of registration. Any procedures prescribed in this division shall be uniform and nondiscriminatory, and shall comply with the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The secretary of state may prescribe procedures under this division that include the use of the national change of address service provided by the United States postal system through its licensees. Any program so prescribed shall be completed not later than ninety days prior to the date of any primary or general election for federal office.   The registration of any elector identified as having changed his voting residence to a location outside his current county of registration shall not be canceled unless the registrant is sent a confirmation notice on a form prescribed by the secretary of state and the registrant fails to respond to the confirmation notice or otherwise update his registration and fails to vote in any election during the period of two federal elections subsequent to the mailing of the confirmation notice.   (C)  The registration of a registered elector shall not be canceled except as provided in this section.   (D)  Boards of elections shall send their voter registration lists to the secretary of state semiannually. In the first quarter of each odd-numbered year, the secretary of state shall send the information contained in these lists to the national change of address service described in division (B) of this section and request that service to provide the secretary of state with a list of any voters on the lists sent by the secretary of state who have moved within the last thirty-six months. The secretary of state shall transmit to each appropriate board of elections whatever lists he receives from that service. The board shall send a notice to each person on the list transmitted by the secretary of state requesting confirmation of the person's change of address, together with a postage prepaid, preaddressed return envelope containing a form on which the voter may verify or correct the change of address information.   HISTORY: 145 v S 300. Eff 1-1-95.