Cross-Checking the Voter Rolls
When you move, you are likely to notify your friends, family, and cable company. Few of us think to notify election officials and cancel our old voter registration.
To clean up the voter rolls, an increasing number of states are now participating in interstate matching agreements, in which they compare their voter databases in an attempt to identify individuals who may be registered in more than one state.
Maintaining the accuracy of the voter rolls is important. However, interstate matching programs can disenfranchise eligible voters if such procedures are not implemented carefully. Voter database inaccuracies and failures in the matching process can yield false positives, and lead to eligible voters being erroneously removed from the voter rolls.
Such matching programs must be conducted in strict accordance with guidelines established by the National Voter Registration Act and the Help America Vote Act. States violate these laws—and their citizens’ voting rights—when they fail to grasp the vulnerabilities of the matching process and erroneously remove apparently “matched” voters.
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Project Vote Testimony in Opposition to Texas Crosscheck Bill
Project Vote submitted testimony to the Texas House Committee on Elections in opposition to "Crosscheck" voter list maintenance bill HB 3422. Read more
Debunking Fraud Claims Based on Database Matching
Fact sheet and talking points on the problem with database matching programs. Read more
Letter to Senator Walker On Indiana Voter List Maintenance Bill SB 442
Project Vote and Common Cause sent a letter to Indiana Senator Greg Walker on problematic list maintenance bill SB 4420. Read more
Legislative Threats and Opportunities: Fall 2015
In latest edition of our Threats and Opportunities series, Erin Ferns Lee examines the status of important election bills—harmful and helpful—that were introduced in 2015. Read more
Letter to the Texas House Elections Committee regarding HB 2093,HB 2372, HB 2848
A coalition of civic engagement groups submitted a letter to the Texas House Elections Committee, expressing concerns with election reform legislation, HB 2093, HB 2372, and HB 2848. The issues relate to rolling back early voting, interstate voter registration crosscheck program, and other issues. Read more
Legislative Brief: Maintaining Current and Accurate Voter Lists
Every state is tasked with the duty to maintain current and accurate computerized statewide voter registration rolls, while at the same time ensuring that no eligible voters are wrongfully removed from the rolls. This report discusses some of the challenges inherent in balancing these two goals, and offers recommendations for implementing best practices. Read more
Policy Paper: Maintaining Current and Accurate Voter Lists
This report discusses some of the challenges for election officials inherent in maintaining accurate voter lists while ensuring no eligible voters are wrongfully removed from the rolls, and offers recommendations for implementing best practices. Read more
Interstate Compacts
This memo summarizes which states are conducting interstate matching programs, how each state uses the resulting data, and the potential problems of using the information from crosschecking to cancel registrations. Read more