Georgia election officials are preparing to designate nearly 184,000 voters who haven’t participated in elections in over five years as “inactive,” meaning their registrations could be canceled if they miss the next two general elections.
The step to make these voters “inactive” comes at the same time the secretary of state’s office is planning next month to cancel an additional 191,000 registrations of voters who either told the Postal Service they had moved or whose mail was undeliverable.
Notification letters were mailed last week to 183,584 voters who haven’t voted since before 2018 or had any other contact with election officials during that time. They’ll be classified as “inactive” if they don’t respond within 40 days.
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said Georgia’s voter registration roster must be kept accurate and up to date.
“Clean lists lessen the burden on our counties, provide appropriate resources in each precinct and ensure the voter has a smooth experience at the polls,” Raffensperger said.
There are currently about 8 million registered voters in Georgia, including 7.2 million active voters and 810,000 inactive voters, according to the state’s voter list as of June.
Voters who become “inactive” this year can still participate in elections for now, but they will be eligible for cancellation in 2027 under Georgia’s “use it or lose it” law, which removes registrations of those who either moved away or decline to participate in elections for several years.
This year’s voter registration cancellations don’t include “use it or lose it” removals because of court cases and changes to state laws. Election officials say “use it or lose it” will return during the next regularly scheduled mass cancellations in two years.
Of the 183,000 voters who could be classified as “inactive,” 116,000 of them don’t have any record of ever casting a ballot in Georgia, according to state registration records.
About 2,400 of them last voted in 2017, and 39,000 cast ballots in 2016. The remainder last participated in elections in prior years.
Voters can check their registration status online on the state’s My Voter Page at mvp.sos.ga.gov.
