ATLANTA — Wednesday marks a critical deadline for nearly 500,000 inactive voters in Georgia as the state undertakes a significant cleanup of its voter lists.
The Georgia Secretary of State’s office is conducting a routine post-election year audit, which occurs every two years in odd-numbered years, to update the state’s voter registration lists. This year, the audit could result in the removal of nearly 500,000 inactive voters, making it the largest cleanup since 2017.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
The Secretary of State’s Office sent cancellation notices to approximately 478,000 registered voters, with today marking the 40-day deadline for these individuals to respond and confirm their registration status.
Gabe Sterling, COO of the Secretary of State’s office, explained that the audit targets voters who have been inactive for several election cycles.
“It takes all the old inactives who haven’t been voting in two general elections in a row, and who haven’t been voting in probably two general elections before that, off of the rolls altogether,” he said.
The office believes that most of the voters in question have either moved out of state, registered elsewhere, or have had mail returned as undeliverable.
“I don’t think people understand how many people move in America every year, the dynamic mobility,” said Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
Raffensperger emphasized that maintaining accurate voter lists is crucial for election integrity and security, which he considers a top priority for building voter trust.
However, opponents and voting rights advocates have criticized the mass cancellations, labeling them as a voter purge. They argue that such actions could disenfranchise eligible voters.
Voters can verify their registration status and respond to the mailers online, in person at driver’s license offices, or by checking directly with their county’s election office.
You can check your voter registration status here.
TRENDING STORIES:
- Raffensperger says mail-in voting system is safe as Trump claims it ‘must end now’
- GA lawmakers try to eliminate state income tax, replace $16B budget loss it would create
- Exclusive: Derek Dooley talks about run for Senate: ‘We need some Georgia common sense’
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
©2025 Cox Media Group
