Removing Voters from the Rolls Part Two

A few weeks ago, we looked at how most voters removed from the rolls in Washington, D.C., in 2008–2010 were removed because of their death.

Nationally, however, inactivity is the most common reason voters are removed from state rolls.

According to data in the Election Assistance Commission’s 2009-2010 National Voter Registration Act report, 40 percent of records removed from state files were purged because of the voter’s “failure to vote,” or to respond to a confirmation request.

The second-most common reason, “moved out of jurisdiction,” comes in at just below 25 percent nationwide. Voters who took the initiative to affirmatively request removal came in way down the list, at less than 3 percent.

This means at least 40 percent of voters are removed because of a lack of data. Election officials know only that there has been no interaction with them but have no information on their whereabouts or status.

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