Notices mailed to 185K Georgia voters facing cancellation of voting rights

Notices are hitting the mailboxes of 185,666 “no contact” Georgians this week, courtesy of Brad Raffensperger and the Georgia Secretary of State’s office. Voters who have not had contact with the state’s elections system for at least five years are the recipients. The Secretary of State described the move as another step to protect election integrity in Georgia by updating the state’s voter lists. “Accurate voter lists … 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,” he said. Recipients of this notice have 30 days to respond or have their voter registrations listed as “inactive”. Many describe this as a step to eventually canceling registrations under the state’s “use it or lose it” law.

This is the second round of notices to Georgia voters this year. In June, Raffensperger’s office sent notices to 101,789 potential voters deemed eligible to be purged. Names ended up on this list because voters had not contacted Georgia election officials directly or through the Georgia DMV for two general elections.

Federal law prohibits removing voters from the rolls during general election years due to federal mandates before federal elections.

Fair Fight Action, a voting rights advocacy group founded by 2018 Democratic gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams, led a legal challenge to a 2019 voter purge by Raffensperger to remove nearly 300,000 voter files that had been deemed obsolete. In June, following the round of notices that went out, Fair Fight launched an online tool to help voters. GeorgiaVoterSearch.com will assist voters in danger of being purged from the state’s voter lists.

“It is critical that every Georgia voter check their voter registration status to make sure it is active and up to date,” said Liza Conrad, voter protection director for Fair Fight Action. “GeorgiaVoterSearch.com will allow Georgia voters to make sure they are not unjustly stripped of their access to the ballot box.”

Voters can also check their registration status online on the state’s My Voter Page.