Some Campaign Strategists Hope You’ll Show Up at the Polls, Only to Find that Your Voter Registration has been Purged.  Don’t Let that Happen.

Brian Beihl

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for July 22, 2024

Today’s Script

(Variations occur with audio due to editing for time. Today’s Links below the script)

You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.

Here’s a scenario likely to be more common in the 2024 elections:  You show up expecting to cast your ballot, but the clerk says you’re no longer registered.  In many states, you used to be able to register the day of the election, but your state legislature changed the rules, and you’re now required to bring citizenship & birth certificate papers to re-register.  So sorry.  

Scheming political strategists and anti-voter legislatures passed numerous laws to expedite the purging of voter registration lists, targeting more mobile, housing insecure, and less politically-engaged voters.   States like Florida are not only purging voter registrations, but shortening the length of time voters can be on it’s automatic vote-by-mail list. 

Voters should be proactive.  Check the status and accuracy of your voter registration information with your local election officials, or county or secretary of state voter information website.   Verify that you’re still on the rolls, that your name and address are correct, your party affiliation is accurate, and whether you’re on a vote-by-mail list if your state offers it.  And double check where your polling place might be, because partisan gerrymandering may have put you into a different precinct.   

Vote.org and the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, EAC.gov, can help you check your information, and we’ve linked to them from AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  We’ll have more tomorrow on the documents required if you need to register.   I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
American Bar Association (2020) – “Use It or Lose It”: The Problem of Purges from the Registration Rolls of Voters Who Don’t Vote Regularly
PBS NewsHour – Conservative groups want to clean voter rolls, raising concerns about election integrity
Florida Phoenix – Under DeSantis, FL has become the bellwether state for voter disenfranchisement
Ohio Capital Journal – Advocates concerned with Ohio’s mass voter purge set to remove 500 people experiencing homelessness
Ohio Capital Journal – How to find out if you are still registered to vote before Ohio’s purge
The New Republic – Georgia Republicans Pass Bill Making It Easier to Purge Votes in 2024
Vote.Org – Check Your Registration to Vote
U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State

Groups Taking Action:
Brennan Center for Justice, ACLU, Center for Voter Information


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