Georgia voters who moved warned to update their addresses

Brad Raffensperger, who appeared to win a Tuesday runoff to become Georgia’s secretary of state, spoke during a get-out-the-vote rally at the Cobb County Republican Party headquarters on April 15, 2017, in Marietta. BRANDEN CAMP/SPECIAL

Brad Raffensperger, who appeared to win a Tuesday runoff to become Georgia’s secretary of state, spoke during a get-out-the-vote rally at the Cobb County Republican Party headquarters on April 15, 2017, in Marietta. BRANDEN CAMP/SPECIAL

Georgia election officials are mailing notices to voters who have moved recently, telling them to update their voter registration information with their new home addresses.

The notifications are the first step toward canceling the outdated registrations of voters who have moved to a different county.

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said Wednesday voter registration lists should be kept accurate. Updating addresses ensures that voters are registered to cast ballots in the same county where they live.

“Not only do updated voter rolls ensure safer elections for Georgia's voters, they also cut back on waste and make the registration and voting process far more efficient,” Raffensperger said in a statement.

Voters who have moved to a new county and don't update their addresses will be considered “inactive,” and their registrations could be canceled after four years. Inactive voters can still vote if they verify their registration information.

More than 1.4 million Georgia voter registrations have been canceled since 2012 because they moved away, stopped participating in elections, died or lost their voting rights after being convicted of felonies.

County election officials will mail the notices to voters who recently reported to the U.S. Postal Service that they've changed their home addresses.

The registrations of voters who moved within the same county will be automatically updated.

Voters who moved to a new county must update their home addresses within 30 days by responding to election officials by mail, or through the Georgia Online Voter Registration System.