Latest Georgia election roll purge targets nearly 478K inactive voters
History voter purge in Georgia | What you need to know
Nearly half a million voter registrations in Georgia are about to be cancelled. The Georgia Secretary of the state’s office began mailing out letters to hundreds of thousands of voters. If you get one the clock is ticking to stay on the voter rolls. It's one of the largest cancellations of voter registrations in history.
ATLANTA - Georgia election officials have begun the process of removing nearly 478,000 names from the state’s voter rolls, marking one of the largest registration cancellations in state history.
Georgia voters to be purged
What they're saying:
The Secretary of State’s office confirmed Thursday that letters have been mailed to voters whose registrations have been deemed inactive. Recipients have 40 days from the date they receive the notice to confirm or update their registration or risk being removed from the rolls.
"This is really good election administration," said Gabriel Sterling, Chief Operating Officer for the Secretary of State’s office. "We’re doing the stuff we can to remove people who we know are no longer there."
Sterling emphasized that the initiative targets only voters who have been inactive for more than four years and failed to respond to previous notices. "You didn’t contact your elections office, you have returned mail, we have evidence you moved out of state and we sent you a letter and you didn’t respond," he said.
He also noted that the effort complies with both federal and state law and has been in practice in Georgia and other states for decades.
Voting rights advocates respond
The other side:
However, voting-rights advocates are raising alarms about the potential consequences.
Andrea Young, Executive Director of the ACLU of Georgia, said the mass removal could disenfranchise eligible voters—particularly those who move frequently or belong to more transient populations such as renters and younger voters.
"They’re more mobile. They’re not necessarily tracking all this paperwork," Young said. "We consider it a purge."
Young added that election reforms should focus on helping vulnerable Georgians access the ballot rather than risk removing them from the rolls. "If they’re going to go through and look at how to make voting in Georgia better, it should be to make it easier for the most vulnerable members of our community," she said.
Will a purge impact the vote?
Local perspective:
Georgia previously canceled over 500,000 registrations in 2017. Zachary Peskowitz, a political science professor at Emory University, said the current effort affects fewer voters by comparison. "We’re talking about fewer than 10 percent," Peskowitz said.
Sterling said Georgia currently has about 8.25 million registered voters. The cleanup could bring that number down to around 7.75 million.
Check your voter status
What you can do:
Voters can check their registration status at mvp.sos.ga.gov.
History of voter purges in Georgia
Timeline:
Georgia has conducted several significant voter‑registration purges in recent years, drawing scrutiny from election experts, courts, and rights advocates. Here’s a look at the major efforts:
September 2023 cleanup
In late 2023, the state removed nearly 190,000 active registrations and placed more than 305,000 others into inactive status over concerns that voters had moved or not voted in multiple elections. Under this "biennial maintenance," voters who do not respond to mailed notices within 40 days risk losing active status and could be removed by 2025.
December 2019 purge of ~309,000 voters
In December 2019, Georgia election officials purged nearly 309,000 registrations, placing many on inactive status for not voting or contacting election authorities in the prior seven years. A federal judge later heard arguments from Fair Fight Action to halt the purge.
In 2019, a federal judge allowed the December purge to proceed but required better notification, especially ahead of special elections. In 2021, nearly 5,000 voters were reinstated via court order.
June 2021 purge of ~102,000 voters
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger released a public list of nearly 102,000 voters in June 2021, to be removed during routine maintenance unless they responded to notices. The list included around 67,000 who filed postal-change-of-address forms and 34,000 with undeliverable election mail. Officials emphasized that those who respond within 40 days could have their registrations reactivated.
Why you should care:
Over the past six years, Georgia’s voter‑list maintenance efforts have escalated in scope and intensity, from routine purges to highly visible, court‑challenged removals. With nearly a half‑million registrations scheduled for July 2025, the tension between ensuring accurate voter rolls and preserving voter access continues to dominate the state’s electoral landscape.
The Source: FOX 5's Christopher King spoke with Gabriel Sterling, Chief Operating Officer for the Secretary of State’s office; Andrea Young, Executive Director of the ACLU of Georgia; and Zachary Peskowitz, a political science professor at Emory University, for this article. Previous FOX 5 Atlanta reporting was also used.