Georgia election officials are mailing notifications to about 142,000 voters who appear to have moved to different states or counties, a step toward eventually canceling their registrations.
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said the notifications will help improve the accuracy of Georgia’s voter registration list, which includes about 7.7 million voters.
“Our office is committed to having the most up-to-date voter records in the country,” Raffensperger said Thursday. “This cuts down on lines and helps ensure voters arrive at the correct precinct.”
After receiving notifications, voters who confirm they have moved will be removed from the state’s voter rolls, or they can re-register with their new addresses. Voters who don’t respond will be placed in “inactive” status, meaning they’d still be able to vote but would be eligible for cancellation after the next two general elections.
Nearly 63,800 Georgians appear to have registered to vote or obtained a driver’s license in another state, according to data from the Electronic Registration Information Center, an organization of 31 states.
An additional 45,700 moved to a different county within Georgia, and 32,800 moved out of state, according to national change of address forms submitted to the U.S. Postal Service.
But voters won’t be canceled this year under the state’s “use it or lose it” law, which allows election officials to remove registrations of voters who failed to cast a ballot for at least eight years. Canceling voters because of their lack of participation can only occur during odd-numbered years between major elections, according to state law.
Mass voter registration cancellations, called voter “purges” by their critics, eliminated 534,000 registrations in 2017, 287,000 in 2019, and 101,000 in 2021.
Georgians can check their registrations online and sign up to vote through the state’s My Voter Page at mvp.sos.ga.gov.
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