Fulton County may have violated federal law by sending 2,400 letters earlier this month telling registered voters that unless they prove their homes exist, they'll be erased from the rolls, according to a voter rights expert.
The possible infraction will be one of several issues talked about at a special-called Registration and Elections Board meeting today at 3 p.m.
The elections office was trying to clear out voters whose addresses match demolition records. Half of the people responded, according to the department, and staffers later determined that about 1,200 were claiming empty lots for residences.
However, the National Voter Registration Act forbids systematic voter purges within 90 days of a federal election, according to attorney Laughlin McDonald, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Voting Rights Project. Several Congressional seats are on the July 31 primary ballot.
Although a motion to purge the 1,200 failed at a June 14 board meeting, the county still violated the law by taking the first steps, McDonald said.
"Because they're implementing this system," he said. "They can be sued for failing to comply with the [law], either by the federal government or a private person who has been targeted as a non-resident."
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