Georgia starts process to remove 500,000 inactive voter registrations
The state of Georgia has initiated one of its largest voter registration purges in history, targeting approximately 478,000 inactive voter registrations. This routine cleanup occurs every odd-numbered year too update voter rolls ahead of upcoming elections. The process began with mailed notices giving affected voters 40 days to respond or update their facts. Officials, including Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and his COO Gabriel Sterling, assert that the majority of those removed have likely moved and are no longer eligible to vote at their registered addresses. The purge aims to ensure Georgia’s voter rolls are the most accurate in the country. However, the effort has faced criticism from left-wing groups and civil rights organizations, who argue that such purges risk disenfranchising eligible voters.This is the first voter cancellation in Georgia since joining the electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), a data-driven partnership designed to maintain up-to-date and secure voter registration lists.
Georgia starts process to remove 500,000 inactive voter registrations
Georgia began one of the largest voter registration purges in the state’s history on Thursday, and almost half a million inactive voters will be removed.
Voter cancellations occur every odd year in Georgia as part of an effort to tidy up voter rolls ahead of the following year’s elections. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office began the process on Thursday, mailing letters to 478,000 voters, giving them a final warning before the cancellation. Those who receive the letters have 40 days to respond or contact local election offices.
Gabriel Sterling, chief operating officer of Raffensperger’s office, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he’s nearly 100% confident those being canceled from voter registration have moved away and are no longer eligible to vote from the address. He also preempted any criticism from left-wing groups.
“We are extremely sure these people aren’t here,” Sterling said. “For somebody to say we’re getting rid of voters is almost silly on its face because of how simple it is to register.”
He boasted that Georgia’s voter rolls would be “the most accurate list in the country” after the cancellation.
The removal falls slightly short of the state’s previous record of 534,000 voters removed, achieved in 2017. The current removal represents 6% of Georgia’s 8.4 million registered voters.
The removals were met with outrage from left-wing leaders, including American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia Executive Director Andrea Young.
“The state is purging hundreds of thousands of voters even though countless studies have shown that voting by ineligible voters is almost nonexistent,” she said. “So the state purge doesn’t protect our system, and instead creates the likely outcome that eligible voters will be removed and blocked from casting a ballot.”
The removal is also the first since Georgia became the 26th state to partner with the Electronic Registration Information Center, a data analysis group that discovers when a voter registered in another state or filled out a change-of-address form.
MIKE COLLINS CONSIDERS GEORGIA SENATE RUN AS RAFFENSPERGER WAITS IN THE WINGS
“Joining ERIC is a tremendous step forward for the integrity of Georgia’s voter rolls, keeping our lists up-to-date and bringing our state to the absolute forefront of election security,” Raffensperger said when announcing the partnership in 2019. “Through this program, Georgia’s elections will be built upon a modernized voter registration system to ensure that we continue to make voting easier and cheating harder.”
Voters flagged by ERIC in 2021 are now eligible for cancellation.
" Conservative News Daily does not always share or support the views and opinions expressed here; they are just those of the writer."
*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases
