107,000 purged from Georgia voter rolls for not voting in past elections: report

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: The Hill

107,000 purged from Georgia voter rolls for not voting in past elections: report

BY MORGAN GSTALTER - 10/19/18 09:15 AM EDT

Georgia officials removed an estimated 107,000 people from voter rolls because they decided not to vote in prior elections, according to a new report.

An APM Reports analysis (1) found the voters were removed under the state's "use it or lose it" law, which starts a process for removing people from voter rolls if they fail to vote, respond to a notice or make contact with election officials over a three-year period.

After that three-year span, those who don't vote or make contact with authorities in two elections can be purged from the voter rolls under the Georgia law.

Such laws, generally enacted by GOP governments, have been growing more common, with at least nine states now having them, according to APM Reports.
....

(1) https://www.apmreports.org/story/2018/10/19/georgia-voter-purge

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/412195-georgia-purged-more-than-100000-people-from-voter-rolls-because-there-didnt

---

SuperDuperHat Retweeted

https://twitter.com/Popehat

JUST IN: 107,000 purged from Georgia voter rolls for not voting in past elections: report http://hill.cm/5hzaBTx

Link to tweet

[Bengus81]

1. That SHIT is Constitutional?? There is a RIGHT to vote and no penalty for not doing so.......

Are you fucking kidding me with this???

[RobinA]

10. This Is Not New

I live in PA and they stopped this some years ago, but it was a reality through my child and young adulthood. It was three years, I believe, because just voting in every presidential election was not good enough. I remember my mother would sometimes vote in an off election specifically so she wasn't removed from the rolls. I can only speculate that it was done to keep the lists from getting overburdened with dead people.

[forgotmylogin]

15. It's more difficult to groom the list for inactivity

than it is to just leave it as it is. Jeez!

[LiberalArkie]

19. We have that in Arkansas and that was the only way we stopped the dead from rising

in November and voting.

[groundloop]

24. Guess where the case would end up if someone challenged the constitutionality....

Yep, THAT Supreme Court which the repuke Senate guaranteed would have a conservative majority when they refused to even consider President Obama's nominee.

GET OFF OUR ASSES AND VOTE !!!!!!

[FBaggins]

61. A similar Ohio law was already upheld earlier this year

And yes... it was a 5-4 vote.

[brooklynite]

2. While I have no doubt that Republican officials play these laws to their advantage...

...I never understand why people fall into the trap not not voting in intermediate elections, and why the Party, knowing that off-year turnout always drops, doesn't address the issue as a major problem.

[secondwind]

27. Maybe we need an entire week to vote? Or a weekend?

[brooklynite]

28. Georgia has a month of early voting...the folks couldn't find the time?

[YOHABLO]

60. I'm thinking it's inclusive of also state and local elections. Not sure.

Some folks just don't vote in their local elections unfortunately. Unless of course they're only looking at general elections.

[cstanleytech]

3. The purge does not anger me to honest but what does is the thought of

that number of people choosing not to vote.

[mahina]

4. Maybe they never had a reason to vote before.

[happy feet]

6. It should bother you

We have a right to vote or not to vote - unconditionally.

[cstanleytech]

11. This does not bar anyone from registering to vote though which is

why the courts have largely been allowing it.

[Bengus81]

7. You think that Bush vs Gore and Trump vs Clinton make people want to vote?

What both of those outcomes said was your vote DID NOT COUNT or both Gore and Clinton were the winners. Then throw in gerrymandering,sudden "broken" voting machines,guys like Kris Kobach and people are of course giving up on voting.

[cstanleytech]

13. What I think is that people need to make the effort to show up and vote

if they are going to register especially if we want to keep people like Trump out of office.

[LiberalArkie]

20. Maybe they are dead. I can't think that any election office has the manpower

to look through the social security death list and try to match that with the voter list.

[cstanleytech]

23. Thus the need to periodically clear out names of people that have not voted though

I think it should not be done until after a person has ether not voted and or renewed their driver's license after it was due to expire for a significant number of years like 12 to 20 years.

[LiberalArkie]

38. I think in Arkansas the person has to not vote in their precinct for 2 federal elections.

That seems to cover those who live to another precinct or city or state or being dead. It was too easy for the corrupt politicians back then (Orval Faubus) to gather the names and addresses of the recently deceased and vote for them.

[cstanleytech]

40. That seems short as there are federal elections every 2 years.

[LiberalArkie]

41. So it would be that a person did not care to vote in 2 federal elections in 4 years

(Maybe 2 presidential elections) I really don't remember. But it did get the boss Hogg type of people out of the government.

[cstanleytech]

42. 12 to 20 years without renewing a drivers license or not voting

makes more sense imo.

[LiberalArkie]

43. That still leaves a lot of dead people that can vote. The conservatives back then were big into

that. But then in the south, they were the Democrats, but they soon change parties and continued on.

It would be nice to have a federal ID card that would would be dropped when the person died.

I consider voting to be at least as important as a door access card that is removed from the system when an employee moves on.

On edit, to allow every living person to walk in and vote or have county official carry ballots to the nursing homes would be even better

[jberryhill]

47. Federal ID is a no-go in this country

Paranoia prevents us from adopting a coherent ID system such as used by most other civilized countries on earth.

[LiberalArkie]

49. Yep I know..

[LiberalArkie]

50. Maybe if they called it a concealed carry permit?

[jberryhill]

59. Oh boy

Let's stick with "free beer coupons".

[mr_lebowski]

29. As a Database Administrator/SQL Programmer for 20+ years, give me one 8 hour day ...

And the two files, in comma-separated value (or similar generic file) format, and I'll come up with around a 90% accurate report for you, showing you which of the registered voters are likely dead. Only like 10% IOW would likely need manual review would be my guess.

The "Manpower"?

C'mon, dude(tte) ... this isn't 1965 here for crying out loud.

Regardless, we need to invest more public funds INTO our elections/registration system if we can't even perform what amounts to it's most basic set of tasks.

[jberryhill]

32. What "two files"

You're going to need the list of all people who have died anywhere, or don't you realize that. The social security death index file is NOT such a file.

Your death does not somehow catch up with your voting record, nor is there any obvious way for it to do so.

Most of the voters have probably moved elsewhere anyway, instead of dying.

Where do you get the "list of people who moved out of Georgia last year"?

[mr_lebowski]

36. The discussion was not regarding people moving away, only people who'd died ...

If the Social Security death index is not a file of everyone (with an SS account) who have 'died anywhere' ... then what is it?

And yeah, I recognize your death doesn't automatically catch up with your voter registration (I think you meant to say) ... what I'm saying is, if there IS a reasonably accurate 'death list', then it should be possible to write a fairly simple program ... that would do so.

Granted, if you don't have SSN numbers in both data sources (the death list, and the voter reg list), you could definitely have some significant 'matching' issues ... I assumed both lists would contain SSN's, giving you a very simple match criteria.

I suppose if my notion of what this file actually is ... is mistaken (which it may be), then probably a smaller % of the task at hand could be accomplished 'programmatically' ... than I had initially posited

[jberryhill]

39. "if there IS a reasonably accurate 'death list'"

The simple answer is - There isn't. (nor would many places use SSN's for voter registration - I don't know about Georgia)

The SS Death Index is a list of people with SSN's whose deaths were reported to the SSA. People's deaths are not reported to the SSA as a matter of course. For example, I have adult children who do not receive social security benefits nor is married to someone who would be claiming death benefits. There would be no reason for their death to be reported to the SSA, either for termination of benefits or by anyone claiming death benefits. They would not get onto the SS death index if they died.

More common than dying, however, is moving. There is likewise no list of "people who moved out of Georgia last year".

[ga_girl]

46. Georgia uses last 4 of SSN during voter registration

http://sos.ga.gov/admin/files/GA_VR_APP_2018.pdf

[mr_lebowski]

57. Got it ... and yeah, obviously there'd be no list of 'people who moved out of state' ...

Although in theory one could get a somewhat extensive list of people who filed for changes of address out of state, obviously not all-encompassing either but a decent starting point.

ANYways, I like your earlier mentioned idea of a much longer time period than 3 years. I could see 4 elections missed being reasonable ... 1 election missed is clearly NOT.

I mean, it's not like there's any significant evidence that either 'dead folks' are voting, nor are people who've moved out of state and then coming back ... just to commit the felony of voting illegally, so what the hell is the big 'need' to remove people so quickly?

So you end up sending election literature to extra people ... yes, that costs, but ... big whoop. You could enlist the Post Office to help out with that and have them return the literature when they know that the addressee is no longer at the home, and anything 'generic' could in theory be re-used to sent to someone else ... that's one thought I'd have on how to cut some costs.

Anyways, that particular 'waste' is pretty well worth it IMHO to make certain that people aren't unfairly disenfranchised by removal from the voter rolls prematurely.

[jberryhill]

58. There are not significant numbers of dead people voting

But, then again, schemes like this (with longer time periods) were devised at least in part due to the likelihood of there having been such schemes in the past.

One way to tell how people tend to behave it to look at what they make illegal.

[jberryhill]

34. The Social Security Death Index is NOT "a list of all the dead people"

People get into the SS death index ONLY if there was a reason for their death to be reported to the Social Security Administration, such as discontinuation of benefits of claiming death benefits.

Just because you have an SSN and die, does NOT mean you get into the SS death index.

https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=3693

The Death Master File (DMF) from the Social Security Administration (SSA) currently contains over 94 million records. The file is created from internal SSA records of deceased persons possessing social security numbers and whose deaths were reported to the SSA. Often this was done in connection with filing for death benefits by a family member, an attorney, a mortuary, etc.

[shanti]

51. interesting

as the family genealogist, thanks for the info!

[jberryhill]

30. How do you know that many people chose not to vote

The article is poorly written.

Quite a few of them are likely dead or have moved away.

It's not as if there is some mechanism that "disenrolls" people from voting when they move, and a good chunk of the US population moves every year.

[cstanleytech]

35. Regardless periodically clearing the rolls of people that have not voted

for a truly significant number of years like 12 or more is not nearly a major problem compared to closing polling places to actually try and prevent people from voting like they tried in Georgia.

[Bengus81]

5. Another day,another GOP trick to suppress voters......

People should vote in all elections but where does it say you have too or LOSE that right as an American Citizen?? Hell if State laws trump the Constitution then make State laws that only WHITE people can vote.

[Botany]

8. 16 million were purged nationwide prior to the 2016 election too

States purged more than 16 million voters from the rolls between 2014 and 2016. That number, calculated in a new report published Friday by the Brennan Center for Justice, is a significant increase from previous years and an indication that large numbers of eligible voters are likely being disenfranchised by inaccurate and unlawful voter roll maintenance.

The report comes just a few weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Ohio’s voter purge system, clearing the way for more states to move forward with the types of purges that disproportionately impact low-income and minority voters.

https://thinkprogress.org/states-purged-16-million-voters-from-the-rolls-before-the-2016-election-1c5688dcaad7/

********

"the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Ohio’s voter purge system" and the republicans see the courts as a
way to keep power as the demographics are against them.

[Ilsa]

9. We need a CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT protecting voting rights.

I know, it would take forever, but we need to think about the long term.

You don't get scrubbed unless you are dead. Voting is not a " use it or lose it" right.

Election Day should be a state and federal holiday.

Other ideas:

City buses and trains should be free to ride that day.

There has to be enough precincts so that lines are not too long because a precinct has to cover too many voters.

[RobinA]

12. In Fact

voting has traditionally been "use it or lose it." At least until you register again. This is not some Repub plot. Not that there aren't other Repub plots, this just isn't it.

[Ilsa]

14. There should still be a constitutional amendment

Protecting voting rights. Voting is a basic right in a democratic republic, and shouldn't be subject to 50 sets of rules about ID, addresses, or how you lose your right to vote, especially if it is only because you haven't voted in several cycles.

[Bengus81]

25. BS,the GOP has pulled that crap in nine States not 50.

Unless you move you should have to register to vote ONCE and it should follow you. Because you skip a couple elections over whatever events or POS running for office in your life shouldn't mean some GOP asshat gets to take you off what is a Constitutional RIGHT.


Move to this Repuke held State I'm in,it's hard to ever vote when most of the time it never matters.

[Demit]

21. People do move out of one state and register in another.

The states could have a way of notifying the voter's state of previous residence.

There's nothing wrong with keeping voter rolls current. It helps everyone, especially grass roots workers doing voter outreach.

[geretogo]

16. You can't have a one party dictatorship if you can't eliminate any opposition .

This is how it's done in Banana Republics .

[beachbum bob]

17. Not uncommon and why we must take individual responsibility

on our voting status. I know I get a new registration card every 2 years. If I don't the first I would do is go to county clerks office.

[AJT]

18. Wisconsin law:

State law requires the election commission to conduct voter list maintenance every two years after each General Election. The purpose is to identify people who are registered but have not voted in the past four years, and remove them from the list if they do not wish to remain registered.

[Bengus81]

26. IF they do not WISH to remain registered...........

That doesn't mean some shit like Kris KKKobach or Brian Kemp gets to YANK your right to vote because HE alone decides you no longer wish to remain registered.

[AJT]

33. You have to return a postcard that is mailed to you.

It looks like junk mail so many people toss it.

[Bengus81]

62. Yup and IMO you should ONLY have to return that card IF you want OFF the voting rolls

I don't get cards in the mail saying AT&T is hooking me up to Uverse UNLESS I mail a card back to them stating I don't want their service.

[Maxheader]

22. Sounds unconstitutional to me..

[dalton99a]

31. Kick

[fmdaddio]

37. Add this to the Constitution

To insure a more perfect Union.
The right of the people to vote shall not be infringed.

[PoliticAverse]

48. "shall not be infringed" doesn't exclude "reasonable regulations"...

like requiring ID per US Supreme Court decisions.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

44. The only way Republicans can win is to cheat

[7962]

45. I was almost one of them & I HAD voted!

But I called the office and they said I was still registered and the "warning" was mailed in error. Mmm hmmm

[shanti]

52. They're probably former Obama voters

There were lots of people who weren't interested in voting until Obama came into the picture. No Obama, no vote. Anyway, that's my take.

[bearsfootball516]

54. That wouldn't surprise me either.

There are probably a lot of people who never voted in their lives, then voted in 2008, didn't vote in 09, 10 or 11, voted again in 2012 and haven't voted since.

[Kurt V.]

53. Cheating right in the open.

Georgia deserves better. any state deserves better.

[red dog 1]

55. K&R

This is how Repukes win elections!

[underpants]

56. 3 years?!?! In Virginia I think we have 6 years

I'm not sure because I vote in every election.