Georgia cancels nearly 189,000 voter registrations

Approximately 2,700 Georgia voters received the message that Georgia was going to remove them from the voter rolls and took action, either by responding to notification letters sent out by election officials this summer or by updating their registration information in time to prevent cancellation.

Unfortunately, nearly 189,000 voters did not take these actions, leading to their removal from the voter rolls after the state announced its intentions in July. These individuals will need to re-register if they wish to vote in Georgia during the 2024 presidential election.

This is part of the state’s routine process, which occurs every two years. Georgia conducts mass voter registration removals biennially to maintain up-to-date voter rolls. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger views these cancellations as a contribution to Georgia’s election integrity, however, voting rights groups refer to these removals as “purges” and argue that they can disenfranchise legitimate registered voters who haven’t actually relocated.

Among the canceled registrations, 55% were marked inactive because election-related mail sent to their address was undeliverable by the U.S. Postal Service, according to the publicly available cancellation list from the secretary of state’s office. The remaining 45% became inactive due to changes in their address information. 

In 2017, Georgia removed a record 534,000 registrations at one time due to the accumulation of outdated registrations over previous years. The 188,802 registrations canceled in this round represent approximately 2% of the state’s slightly less than 7.9 million registered voters, which is not a record-high number compared to past years.

Very few of the registrations canceled this year fell under Georgia’s “use it or lose it” law, which removes registrations of individuals who haven’t participated in elections for several years. Court cases and changes in state laws have postponed “use it or lose it” cancellations until 2025.

Under Georgia law, voters can be declared “inactive” when they seem to have moved out of the state or five years after their last vote or contact with election officials. Their registrations are then voided if they miss the next two general elections.

Georgia voters can check and verify their registration information online at mvp.sos.ga.gov.