Voter Purges

Protecting the Voter Rolls

It’s one thing to get citizens onto the voter rolls. But it’s equally important that we make sure eligible voters stay on the rolls.

Under the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), states are tasked with maintaining current and accurate voter registration databases. However, the lack of clear and uniform standards for list maintenance has resulted in inconsistent standards from state to state, and poorly developed “voter purge” programs have often led to the mass disenfranchisement of eligible voters. Frequently, such ill-conceived purge programs have had a disproportionate impact on minority populations.

The removal of voters from the rolls needs to be undertaken with the greatest of care, and in complete compliance with the standards established by federal law, including the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), which contains a number of procedural protections to protect eligible voters from wrongful removals.

Project Vote closely monitors, investigates, and where necessary brings suits against illegal and discriminatory voter purge activity.

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Arcia et al v. Detzner: Order on Rehearing

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Arcia order on rehearing Read more

Arcia et al v. Detzner: Re-issue Opinion

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Re-Issue Arcia opinion Read more

Hundreds flagged in NC voter rolls audit

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On Friday, a coalition of voting rights groups expressed concern about the audit in a letter to state elections officials. Read more

NC officials say 1,425 voters are in question

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A coalition of voting rights groups expressed “deep concern about the way in which the State Board of Elections is identifying and potentially removing voters who it alleges are noncitizens.” Read more

Letter to the North Carolina State Board of Elections on List Maintenance and Alleged Non-citizens

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On October 24, 2014, a coalition of voting rights groups wrote to North Carolina State Board of Elections members regarding list maintenance and alleged non-citizens. Read more

What Kind of Year Has It Been for Election Laws?

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WASHINGTON, DC — With Americans heading to the polls in just four weeks, a new report from voting rights group... Read more

Policy Paper: Voter Registration Transparency

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This policy brief addresses the importance of transparency in the voter registration and list maintenance process, discusses current law and efforts to ensure public access to voter registration information, and reviews some best practices for making information available to the public. Read more

Project Vote Releases New Policy Paper on Voter Registration Transparency

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Fair access to records is vital to ensuring that states are not using arbitrary or politically-motivated criteria for rejecting applicants or purging voters in secret.  Read more

Here’s Another Crazy Consequence of Eric Cantor’s Loss

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Eric Cantor's loss in the Virginia Republican primary on Tuesday night is terrible news for voting rights. Read more

In Florida, Bid to Cut Voter Rolls Is Set Back

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Gov. Rick Scott’s effort to remove voters who are not American citizens from voter registration rolls has suffered a one-two punch in the past week. Read more