ATLANTA – Georgia election officials are mailing notifications this week to more than 185,000 registered voters, starting a process that could ultimately result in them being removed from the voter rolls if they don’t take action.
The notices are being sent to people who haven’t participated in an election or had other contact with the state’s election system for the past five years, according to a news release from Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office. That means they haven’t voted, asked for an absentee ballot, updated their registration by changing their address, signed a petition or renewed their driver’s license.
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“Accurate voter lists are fundamental to election integrity,” Raffensperger said in the release. “They ensure ineligible people cannot vote, allow counties to effectively allocate resources so there are no long lines, and help make sure voters get accurate information about casting their ballot.”
If the 185,666 people targeted by the notifications do not respond within 30 days, they will be classified as “inactive.” They will still be able to vote as usual while on the inactive list, and casting a ballot should move them back to the active voter list.
A second notification will be sent to people who remain on the inactive voter list for the next two election cycles and their registration will be canceled if they don’t respond to that cancellation notice, the release says.
Raffensperger announced in June that nearly 102,000 voters would be removed from the rolls unless they responded to cancellation notices. Those notices were sent to about 67,000 voters who submitted a change of address form to the U.S. Postal Service, and about 34,000 voters who had election mail returned, his office said at the time.
People who are removed can register again. Georgians can register to vote and check or update their registration online.