Georgia election officials are set to cancel approximately 455,000 inactive voter registrations this summer, one of the largest purges in U.S. history.
According to a report from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, more than half of the removals were flagged by the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), a 24-state organization that identifies voters who have moved or become ineligible.
State officials, including Elections Director Blake Evans, argue that the cancellations demonstrate ERIC’s effectiveness in maintaining an accurate voter list.
“ERIC is the best tool out there right now that gives us valuable information you can’t get anywhere else,’ Evans told the AJC.
The majority of the cancellations affect voters who appear to have moved, either by changing addresses, registering in other states, or obtaining out-of-state driver’s licenses.
Additionally, 100,000 voters who have not participated in Georgia elections for at least nine years are also set for removal due to Georgia’s “use it or lose it” law.
However, the mass cancellations have sparked controversy.
Conservative critics claim Georgia’s voter rolls are outdated and vulnerable to fraud, claiming ERIC has not sufficiently cleaned up the list. Some critics have also advocated for Georgia to withdraw from the organization completely, like Alabama, Florida and Texas.
Voters can contest their removal by contacting county election offices.