ATLANTA — The state of Georgia says 315,000 inactive registered voters will be notified that - if they do not respond - they will be dropped from the voter rolls.
State officials say this is nothing new and every state does it. Georgia goes through this process every two years.
“Election security is my top priority,” said Secretary Raffensperger. “Accurate and up-to-date voter rolls are vital to secure elections, but at the same time I want to ensure that anyone potentially affected by this routine process has notice and opportunity to update their information. That is why my office is releasing the full list to ensure that people who are still eligible voters can update their information.”
You might remember last year when Stacey Abrams led the effort to sue the state of Georgia after she narrowly lost the gubernatorial race to former Secretary of State Brian Kemp.
Abrams claimed thousands of people were illegally removed from the polls. That lawsuit is still ongoing, and it gained the attention of the Democratic-led House Committee on Oversight and Reform, which demanded Georgia hand over documents related to voter removals this past spring.
Around that same time, Governor Kemp signed a new law, which addresses the issue moving forward. Among other things, it requires voters be notified before they are removed.
If you haven't voted in the last two general elections, the state has the right to cancel your registration, but the law requires the state to notify you first, to give you a chance to confirm whether you're an active voter.
This time around, the state is not only going to notify you, but also provide a postage-paid card to use to respond. The notices will go out on Nov. 6 to the last known address on file. The notified voter will have 30 days to respond.
This ensures the maintenance is complete by the "federally required 90 days before the next federal election," state officials said.
Voters can also check their status online at the Secretary of State's office website.
“Accurate voter lists limit confusion and delays at polling places on Election Day, and make sure voters get the correct ballot,” said Chris Harvey, Elections Director for the Secretary of State’s Office. “Accurate registration lists also allow county election offices to plan for polling place equipment and staffing needs. Accurate voter lists reduce the opportunities for mistakes or fraud.”
The ACLU, who filed a lawsuit in 2017 said they are very concerned by this tactic.
“We very concerned and disappointed that the Secretary of State persists in cancelling the registration of duly registered Georgia citizens. The ACLU of GA has worked very hard to protect voter rights and ensure that people would have adequate opportunity to correct errors that resulted in cancellations in their ability to exercise,” Andrea Young, executive director of the ACLU of Georgia said. “It is especially concerning ahead of municipal elections across the state."