As part of an audit and maintenance of Georgia’s voter rolls, the Secretary of State’s office is mailing out cancellation notices to 477,883 registrants who have been in Inactive Status for the November 2022 and 2024 General Elections, per state and federal law – the largest mailing of its kind in eight years.
According to information sent out by Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, 180,473 records were originally identified as having moved out of state through Georgia’s membership in the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC). Georgia began sending Cross State confirmation mailers in 2021 after joining ERIC, which is significantly contributing to the increase in records being mailed a cancellation notice this year.
Other information indicated that:
● 87,027 records were identified as having filed a national change of address (NCOA) with the United States Postal Service.
● 105,848 records were identified as having no contact with their elections office in five calendar years. “No contact” means they did not vote, submit an updated registration application, or have other activity with their elections office.
● 104,535 records were identified because their local elections office received returned undeliverable mail when attempting to mail to the address on record.
Raffensperger said in all cases, voters were sent a mailer when they went to Inactive status, and all records are being sent another mailer now informing them that they will be canceled if they do not respond. Those who receive a mailed notice will be given 40 days to respond.
“They can respond by submitting a voter registration update through Online Voter Registration, their My Voter Page, or by completing and returning the postcard included with the cancellation mailer once they receive it. They can also complete a Georgia voter registration application and return it to their local elections office,” according to Raffensperger.
Raffensperger says he is partnering with ERIC, United States Postal Service (USPS), and Georgia’s Department of Driver Services (DDS), in his efforts to uphold his “commitment to election integrity and taking unprecedented action to keep Georgia’s voter list the most accurate in the nation.”
“Georgia’s voter rolls are the cleanest in the nation thanks to the diligent partnerships we’ve made to secure our elections,” said Raffensperger. “Clean voter rolls mean clean elections. My promise to Georgia voters is elections that are free, fair, and fast – and we’re doing just that.”
Raffensperger and his staff will be continuing an audit of Georgia’s voter rolls over the coming months. The audit will include the implementation of an address verification tool to ensure the accuracy of residential addresses used in the registration process.
