Wisconsin to remove up to 188,000 from voter rolls because they have not voted in 4 years

[turbinetree]

Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Patrick Marley Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Published 8:03 a.m. CT Apr. 29, 2021 / Updated 9:05 a.m. CT Apr. 29, 2021

MADISON - The state Elections Commission unanimously agreed Thursday to start the process of removing as many as 188,000 people from the voter rolls because they have not cast ballots in the last four years.

The bipartisan commission took up the issue three weeks after a lengthy legal fight over whether it should remove tens of thousands of people from the rolls because they were believed to have moved. In a 5-2 ruling this month, the state Supreme Court sided with the commission in finding it did not have to quickly take those voters off the rolls.

Now, the commission is preparing to take action under a state law meant to clear the rolls of those who have not voted in the last four years. The commission is to send them notices giving them 30 days to ask to keep their voter registrations active.


Read more: https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2021/04/29/wisconsin-remove-voters-rolls-who-havent-voted-4-years/4878036001/

[rampartc]

1. that is a fair standard

i may quibble about the time range (maybe 5 or 8 years would be better) but if you have not voted in that length of time a re registration might be in order.

[FeelingBlue]

2. Why? NT

[jimfields33]

7. In Florida, you'd want no more then 4 years

Older population which die or move to assistant living, transit and other reasons. I think it’s a waste of time for the workers to have to visit homes of people no longer there for whatever reason.

[Claire Oh Nette]

18. People in assisted living can still vote

In Florida, you'd want to clear the rolls of people who haven't voted in the last three years? or two?

So, 72 year old guy, Vietnam vet, independent, always votes. Voted in 2016. Has an accident, let's say, in 2020, before the election, in February, for example. Runs his four wheeler into a tree while out Turkey hunting on. Paralyzed. Surgeries, Rehab. The whole bit.

His absentee ballot arrives at his house, but he's at the VA Spine center, learning to feed himself.

But because he didn't vote in 2020, you'll remove him from the rolls.

My actual step dad. Actually happened.

Clear dead people from the rolls. Easy enough to do. Any one else, I don't care if they never voted. You don't clear them unless you fear them.

[jimfields33]

34. Well in the case of someone living in assistant living, yes he needs to clear his registration

From old residence and update address so they can continue to vote. As far as step dad goes, no we’d take the address off in 2023.

I’m a precinct captain in my area and we have thousands of homes to visit. We only have so much time knocking on doors in a 30 mile radius. So you go to a home and they say, “oh they moved.” You go to the next home, “oh they died.” This happens. So because this happens it could mean another house could be missed down the line.

I want every democratic voter to vote 100 percent. I also want an up to date list to work with. Is it too much to ask?

[Claire Oh Nette]

38. He returned to his original home.

My step dad went through three facilities in a year. He didn't move into them, he was a patient for two or three months.

There are far more efficient ways to clear the rolls. Start with County death records.

I agree--we have this data in isolated silos. I'd wager the GOP prevents county agencies form communicating this information efficiently and effectively.

Across the board no vote in four years and out you go will hurt more democrats than republicans. The average voter is not as involved as those who follow partisan discussion boards. Would that everyone took voting seriously, too.

[jimfields33]

41. I hope your step dad is good now. I'm sorry he went through that.

I’m sure you had big stress during that time. I hate when loved ones are hurting. As far as registration goes, I think I’ll be more patient now about the various reasons for missing a vote or more. I was being very selfish thinking me me me instead of looking at it from the voter position. Thank you for taking the time to explain things to me.

[Claire Oh Nette]

43. Two anecdotal denials from one plan.

He's OK.

Voted for trump in 2016 to shake things up, but by 2018, he'd had enough and admitted out loud he made a mistake.

Love that guy. His other kids have gone full MAGA and he shakes his head.

Makes me want to volunteer at the local Democratic HQ.

Keep fighting the good fight, jim.

[LiberalArkie]

40. Not removing those who have not voted in elections for 4 - 8 years is how the dead people

have been able to vote.

[Towlie]

44. So you favor encouraging people to cast votes on behalf of dead people lest they lose the ability?

 
?

This law would tell me that I need to keep regularly voting on behalf of my dead grandfather so that his registration remains valid.

So no, that's not a valid excuse for this voter-suppression measure.

[LiberalArkie]

46. No. but those are the ones who those in county electoral positions vote and keep winning year after

year no matter what happens.

[Towlie]

48. Sorry, I'd love to respond but I can't figure out what you're saying.

 
?

[cstanleytech]

53. I don't have any problem with removing people after 4 years either but only if the ability to

register is made simple and fast otherwise it should be more like 6 to 8 years otherwise its bullshit.

[idahoblue]

56. Wisconsin has voting day registration

[cstanleytech]

57. How difficult to show proof of residency and what about for those that

currently have no residence due to being homeless? Asking the last part as it’s something someone else raised though I do not know if that is a significant problem in the state.

[DiamondShark]

63. Well...

If you are homeless and have no fixed address, are you a resident of that state/precinct? I think not having a fixed address we could mail a reminder to would be an issue. What precinct do they live in if they are homeless.

[cinematicdiversions]

64. Because you are dead or moved away in most cases. NT

[unblock]

3. It's not reasonable at all and is designed to make it harder to vote

Many, many people only care to vote once every 4 years anyway. So, miss one election(and many people also don't bother voting when the outcome is obvious, e.g., popular president running for re-election) and they toss your registration.

The bureaucratic upside is tiny and the downside in corrupting the vote is massive.

[GregariousGroundhog]

4. Registering to vote is pretty painless in WI

Registering can be done on election day and takes less than 10 minutes.

[not fooled]

10. And I'll bet that same-day registration will be

jacked by WI pukes before the next election.

[unblock]

17. many of voting hurdles are simple and easy for *most* people

but the real point is to deter and to make it harder for some people to vote. for instance, it's not always easy for some people to prove residency, e.g., people with no fixed abode.

many of the jim crow crap didn't *prevent* all black people from voting, they just put in enough hurdles and challenges to kick out enough and deter others. that's the point of it. they can pretend it's fair and blame the would-be voter for not complying.

but they shouldn't have to comply with stupid regs. missing a single presidential election is not a compelling reason to make someone take any additional steps the next presidential election.

[groundloop]

33. ABSOLUTELY..... Everyone in this 'great' country should automatically be registered to vote.

People shouldn't have to jump through hoops to vote, period. We all know which side benefits when fewer people vote, and once again they're putting up obstacles to voting in the name of election security.

[cstanleytech]

55. How many such people actually vote though? Are we talking a large percentage or what?

Granted, I think some of the voting laws the Republicans are enacting are specifically meant to try and slow the ability of minorities to flex their growing political muscle as their participation and population outstrips white republican voters but still I do not think 4 years is to unreasonable under some circumstances.
Those circumstances for me would be for the ability to register to vote to be fast and easy for everyone otherwise 4 years is reasonable and if they put hurdles up like say in Georgia then its bullshit and it should be more like 6 to 8 years.

[Mickju]

5. I agree completely.

[Towlie]

49. Exactly! It's not reasonable at all and is designed to make it harder to vote.

 
?

It's just another form of voter suppression.

[yellowdogintexas]

75. I know for a fact that we do not do that in Texas. We do some awful stuff but

we do not take folks off the voter registry just because they have not voted for a certain number of years.

My daughter has lived in Arizona for 12 years and votes there and she is still on the voter registry here. If I had returned her voter registration card as "no longer lives here" to the Elections Office she would have been removed after 2 election cycles. She has not voted here since 2008, maybe 2010. We get those cards every even year in January.

After I found out I needed to deny that little flimsy piece of paper, I started returning them with the last one we got in 2020 and then will return the 2022 one and she should be deleted. I tried to delete her myself as a precinct chair but it did not work, which is a good thing actually.

Those little cards do not serve as a substitute for a photo ID but they do let you know your voter registration is still in force and has all your various districts on it from Congressional all the way down to your home precinct. Also if you can't get a photo ID for some reason, if you bring some sort of official mail addressed to you where you live (utility bill, pay stub, bank statement etc). Having that card reinforces your registration info.

I do not know if our registries are screened for deaths. There ought to be a link between the Secretary of State's office and whichever office in Austin keeps up with birth and death certificates, but there does not seem to be one.

[FeelingBlue]

9. And if you haven't used your assault rifle in 5 years

Should you lose your right to bear arms?

[Claire Oh Nette]

21. Snap. nt

[DiamondShark]

60. Is there a Voting Rights Amendment in the Constitution I missed?

Last I checked Voting Rights are controlled in each state. If Congress ever passes a bill guaranteeing the Right for every American to vote, then we can compare the two. Until then we have to leave it up to 50 different states allowing us the ability to vote. Yes, I said ability to vote not right to vote, because that's what it is. We are not guaranteed a right to vote in any state in America.

[Claire Oh Nette]

13. No, it isn't.

When I register to vote, it should be valid until I move.

If I haven't moved, and haven't died, the state has no right ot arbitrarily remove me.

Four years is one election cycle. Many people miss small local elections and only vote in the Presidential elections. Some people may not like either candidate.

There is no requirement for voting every time, or once every four years. You turn 18, register, and until you move, it's good. The GOPP is only interested in preventing people from voting--they've done nothing to ever expand voting rights. More Americans than ever participated. They aren't celebrating Americans, but looking to silence them.

No. this is voter suppression.

[FBaggins]

24. The state doesn't necessarily know when you move/die

It's fairly standard in almost all states that failing to vote for an extended period will get you a card asking if you're still there. Failure to reply (or sometimes failure to reply to the second notice) eventually gets you removed from the rolls.

My son registered out of state when he moved for college and just received his first card from NC. He's not quite 21, so NC obviously starts the process in less than four years.

Four years is one election cycle

No, it isn't. It's at least two... and in many states, it's four (plus primaries).

[Claire Oh Nette]

28. When I move, I reregister to vote.

THat's how the state knows.

Four years is one major election cycle. THere are a lot of voters who do not vote in off year elections, or primaries. Some people vote in the presidential elections, and that's it.

It's a bad idea, and suppresses votes.

It's an unfair burden, otherwise, they'd require every voter to reregister every election. These clearing up of the voter roll schemes always leave GOP voters largely unaffected. Seems pretty suppressy to me.

[FBaggins]

42. Congratulations... not everyone does that

And if you move out of state, people often don't tell their old state.

I'd imagine that you would also reply to a postcard asking whether you had moved. The one my son received was postage paid and required only checking a single box and signing. Hardly a "burden".

Four years is one major election cycle.

It really isn't. The people who only vote in presidential years are really lousy citizens. But it doesn't much matter for this conversation. Federal law (written by Democrats and signed by a Democratic president) outlines standards for how states maintain their voter rolls (which they are required to do).

In OH it's two years before you could be removed - which was just upheld by the courts in 2018.

[Calista241]

71. That's great, but your previous locale doesn't know that you've registered somewhere else.

And you remain on the voter roles where you used to live, until removed. I even checked the last time I moved, there's no mechanism to get myself removed from the voter roles, other than the inactivity process.

[NullTuples]

58. I gotta ask - how many unrecorded deaths actually happen?

To take care of / dispose of the body there is *ALWAYS* paperwork & this ends up requiring a death certificate.

It's really, really difficult to die without the stating knowing.

[DiamondShark]

61. Easy to find out.

I gotta ask - how many unrecorded deaths actually happen?

To take care of / dispose of the body there is *ALWAYS* paperwork & this ends up requiring a death certificate.

It's really, really difficult to die without the stating knowing.

Easy to find out, just lookup the missing persons in any state you are looking for "unrecorded deaths."

[JohnnyRingo]

26. Yes.

Can you imagine how thick the sign in book would be if dormant names from 20 years ago were still registered? Agreed it should be two election cycles, or eight years.

I don't believe anyone is obligated to report a move or a death to the County Board Of Elections. Vote people! No one has to kick a republican's ass to the polls but it seems democrats only show up when it personally affects them.

[Claire Oh Nette]

35. If I move, I am Obligated to register myself.

If I haven't moved, I don't want to re-register.

You know who doesn't move very often? Old people in small towns, homeowners settled in raising kids. Know who does? younger, poorer people.

This seems like the county death folks should update the county voting folks periodically. With things like evidence. Not speculation because someone missed a vote.

Anecdotal evidence:
I had a heart attack in October 2018. on the 2nd hole. I finished 9 so I could post, but I was in v-fib and went to the ER with a heart rate of 255. Five days in the hospital, a pacemaker, and recovery at home, and by god I missed an off year election. Life happens.

So, this is a shitty idea, kids.

[forgotmylogin]

50. I agree so long as they attempt to notify the people removed.

Send a form letter or a postcard explaining "We've noticed you've not voted in (period of time) and your registration therefore is currently inactive. If you've moved or wish to vote in an upcoming election, please verify or renew your voter registration in your current location."

[quakerboy]

69. thats a rediculous standard.

My state ID is valid longer than that. my passport is valid longer than that.

Apparently my contract for trash pickup service is longer than that, to my recently discovered dismay.

[Mr. Sparkle]

6. Just because someone hasnt voted, why should they be removed from the rolls ?

Politicians should not be allowed to remove voter registrations under any circumstances.

This is the repugs trying to rig future elections, by decreasing eligible votes.

[oneshooter]

8. My Mom and Dad voted 6 yeasrs ago.

Unfortunately Dad died 10 years before and Mom passed 3 years ago. They were NOT removed before I went to the registers office and checked, They asked for proof and I gave them certified copies of their passing, "remove voter registrations under any circumstances."
What do you say?

[not fooled]

11. They didn't vote, obviously,

so how did not removing their names cause any harm?

And for people who die, why doesn't the county of residence simply send the death certificate to the registrar of voters? Problem solved without needlessly endangering the voting rights of others.

[oneshooter]

19. But they DID, At least twice in that time.

[jimfields33]

37. Death certificates cost 10 dollars.

[oneshooter]

47. The county is supposed to remove dead people from voter rols when the DC is issued.

They did not.

[Mr. Sparkle]

16. Politicians should not be allowed to remove registrations

as usually when they do it , they are trying to rig the system.
I have no problem with family or next of kin doing it when their loved ones have died.

[oldsoftie]

12. Totally reasonable; especially with the 30 day notification.

Plus, I'm sure if you wonder, you can call the BoElections & ask if you're still registered.

And if you didnt vote in the past 2 presidential elections, maybe you really shouldnt be voting!! What the hell does it take with TRUMP running??

[onetexan]

14. +1 -K&R

[Claire Oh Nette]

22. if you didnt vote in the past 2 presidential elections, maybe you really shouldnt be voting

Um, no.

Voter registration should be good until a person moves, or dies. There is no requirement you must exercise your right to vote.

Totally reasonable to mail a postcard saying we're pulling you off the voting rolls because you didn't vote and we're giving you 30 days to...what? re-register? prove you didn't die? At a time when the USPS has been hijacked, sending a notice and giving someone 30 days is asinine. One old woman, who doesn't drive, who lives way out in the hinterland, might not make it in in 30 days. SHe may not have internet access in rural WNC.

Another poster solved this problem: the county records death certificates. Send a email to the Registrar of voters once a month with the names of those who've passed.

No. It's a solution to non existent problem. Like most GOP solutions.

[DiamondShark]

62. And when that name matches more than one person...

the county records death certificates. Send a email to the Registrar of voters once a month with the names of those who've passed.

And when that name matches more than one person, what do they do? Do they Georgia or Florida the voter rolls and remove 53k or 150k people because the name matches a death record or Felony Arrest? No, there should be a process to cleanup the voter rolls without causing problems for 53k Americans in Georgia, or 150k Americans in Florida.

[oldsoftie]

66. In THESE past 2 elections? Yeah. Sorry.

And like i said, anyone can call in & make sure they didnt get "purged".
Dying is one thing, but you only die once. People move often.
The 30 days is to notify them that yes, you're still at "X" address and want to remain registered.
Or hey, maybe VOTE in at least a local election once in awhile.

[Lonestarblue]

36. And that 30-day notification gets sent by mail where it may take three weeks to arrive.

Or it gets lost or gets put in someone else’s mailbox and never gets delivered. I get someone else’s mail almost every week. If it’s junk, I toss it. If it’s a neighbor’s mail, I deliver it. Otherwise it goes back to the post office to be delivered (hopefully) to the right person. The notice only gets sent once, so people who never receive them don’t even know their registrations are being cancelled.

There should be other ways to verify whether people have moved. People should be able to update their voter registration when they renew a driver’s license. For non-drivers, a different method could be found. Voting is the right of every citizen, and once registered to vote no one should be kicked off the voting rolls just because they haven’t voted in awhile. Four years is especially too short a time.

[Major Nikon]

51. The reason was for partisan hacks to make it harder to vote

Hardly reasonable at all

[usaf-vet]

15. Does the Constitution indicate the number of consecutive elections you must vote in to maintain....

..... your right to vote?

How many elections could a person not vote in, in 4 years? One presidential and one midterm?

Have any of the morons (aka voter suppression addicts) ever heard of major illness like cancer, major heart surgery, or...what is the latest..... oh yea a pandemic.

This is all bullsh*t this is clearly just another excuse to implement voter suppression.

[DiamondShark]

65. Does the Constitution indicate a right to vote?

Google has failed me and cannot find that amendment. Or clarity in the Constitution.

[usaf-vet]

68. Try this Google search to read about the 15th Amendment and subsequent amendments protecting.....

...... the right to vote.

Google search shortened: https://tinyurl.com/w5hzb3tk

Original URL: https://www.google.com/search?sxsrf=ALeKk01iVBlR9UwMp_dByVijZ6FueON2Ew%3A1619725091017&q=the%2015th%20amendment&ved=2ahUKEwiG7ruVmqTwAhXTQc0KHSd5Ci4QmoICKAB6BAgCEBY&biw=2385&bih=1212

[DiamondShark]

72. Text of the 15 Amendment.

Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

I think the 15th is about something else, the "on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." is very specific language.

[usaf-vet]

74. So you believe a person can be denied the right to vote for not voting for 4 years?

A strict Constructionist? So the right to bear arms is as the original Second Amendment defined it.

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed.

The amendment's primary justification was to prevent the United States from needing a standing army. Preventing the United States from starting a professional army, in fact, was the single most important goal of the Second Amendment.

[DiamondShark]

76. Oh I'm no Constustional Lawyer...

Nor have I ever argued in front of the Supreme Court. But the 15th only extended rights to vote because of the Civil War. That's why we have the 14th, 15th, and 16th to Guarantee certain rights Federally to a group that did not have those rights before the Civil War. Before the Civil War, we had multiple groups of people that were slaves to another group of people. The 14th, 15th, and 16th were to make sure the "on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." group had permanent rights that could not be taken away.

the Fifteenth Amendment prohibits racial discrimination in the vote; the Nineteenth Amendment prohibits discrimination based on sex; the Twenty-Fourth Amendment prohibits the use of poll taxes in national elections; and the Twenty-Sixth Amendment prohibits denying the vote to those over 18 years of age.

On the topic of the 2nd Amendment, I don't have a time machine to ask the Founding Father why they had that as the 2nd guaranteed right. I mean, why was the 1st Amendment in the Bill of "Rights Freedom of Religion, Speech, Press, Assembly, and Petition" were our Founding Fathers guaranteeing certain rights that cannot be removed by a Fascist State?

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Something along the lines of the 2nd could be read as...

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State,

the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed.

But if you separate those 2 statements with a semi-colon instead of a comma it changes the whole meaning of the statement. Or if you were to add a comma after the "the right of the people to keep and bear Arms" statement it changes the meaning again. So it is best to take the reading as a whole and make a guaranteed right that reads

A well regulated Militia, AND being necessary to the security of a free State, AND the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Emphasis added
I know a little clunky with all the AND statements.

Again I am not a Lawyer and have not argued in front of the Supreme Court, so I can't break it down as well as a Lawyer can. I'm sure there are plenty of ruling on the 15th and the 2nd that guarantee American certain rights.

You might want to check out this website. https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/interpretation/amendment-xv/interps/141
It's on your google search, first link for me. It talks about why the 15th was created after the Civil War. A good read but not guaranteeing all American the right to vote, only that the right cannot be taken away.
But the whole statement is moot as the VRA is no longer in effect, as originally enacted, here is an excerpt.

The situation only began to change dramatically in 1965, when Congress used its power to enforce the Fifteenth (and Fourteenth) Amendment by enacting the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (the VRA). The VRA provided a variety of means for the federal government and the federal courts to ensure that the right to vote was not denied on the basis of race.

Now that the VRA is no longer in effect the states are running a much, so to speak, and limiting the rights of many Americans by creating Poll Taxes, that's Voter ID... And just outright limiting absentee voting, witch my state did for 2020.

If you want to argue WHY people should not be removed for voting rolls, ask yourself why the voting rolls exist in the first place.

[seta1950]

20. Why

Don’t these people have anything better to do?😒

[JohnnyRingo]

23. I think Ohio has always done this.

If one doesn't vote in a certain number of years, and it's only about five or six, then they have to reregister.

I don't expect to be politically dormant for 10 or 15 years and expect my name to still be on the roster books. I don't think anyone should. Eventually, the books would be full of people who moved, died, or just lost interest. When should they remove a name? After 10, 20, 50 years of inactivity?

[FBaggins]

27. I think all states do something similar

Not all states use four years as the threshold (I know OH is two... because SCOTUS just ruled on that three years ago)... but they have to have a process for maintaining their voter rolls with some degree of accuracy.

[DallasNE]

25. Why The Rush

I understand the desire to remove clutter from the database but doing it after only 4 years is voter suppression. I think 10 years would be much more reasonable and only after a notification process has been followed.

[tenderfoot]

29. Conservative DUers seem to be totally on board with this...

which is not at all surprising.

[duforsure]

30. That should not be allowed , and if so it should give the voters 4 years from now to vote ,

Not eliminate giving them a chance to determine ahead of time, and a chance to vote after the law is enacted. That's a bad law.

[Bayard]

31. Four years is ridiculous

Say you came down with Covid a week before the election. Too late for mail-in, can't get out of bed to go vote.

There's any number of scenarios that could happen for just one election cycle.

[Lettuce Be]

32. Tried to get my mother's removed in WA State due to Alzheimer's - told no

Can only send a death certificate, otherwise, no way to remove. It's not like it's taking up space or costing $ to have people registered that haven't voted. Maybe they will one day? This is insane and as usual, more voter suppression since many will be removed but not realized until they try to vote.

[Deminpenn]

39. There has to be a way to manage voter rolls or they

become unwieldy. If you haven't voted for 4 years, that's as good a standard as any to be removed from the rolls.

[BoomaofBandM]

45. I am torn on this. Living in Wisconsin, I am suspicious of anything Republicans do. We have a

democratic governor, but the legislature and state Supreme court lean far right. Not sure about the election commission. I just think we need to watch how this is done and who it is done by. It is unfortunate we have to watch every little thing they do.

[idahoblue]

52. Wisconsin has same day voter registration

Voters just need to know to take whatever documents they need when they go to vote, just in case they need to register.

In Idaho, none voters drop off the rolls. But we have same day registration so it is a none issue.

[Hawker123]

54. Fair in my opinion

Here in oklahoma, I vote several times a year even in off years.

[IronLionZion]

59. Good way to screw people who moved, like for college or jobs

and may not get the 30 day notice or their vote may have been by mail and mistakes were made in the state's record keeping.

But as long as it screws mostly Democrats, GOP is all about purging voter rolls.

[Borderer]

67. Please forgive my ignorance, but I have a question

As a Brit I am wondering how the voters rolls are normally updated in the US. I appreciate this probably differs between states, but am I right in thinking that the onus to register is entirely on the voter (augmented by some automatic forms of registration such as the Motor-Voter processes)?

Here in the UK every local authority has a statutory duty to compile and maintain accurate electoral registers. Every household is sent a letter every year detailing who is on the register at that address, including young people who will soon be old enough to vote, and you are required to either confirm/update it using the freepost envelope or to do it online. If you don't do that, you get at least one reminder letter. Of course some people still fail to respond and at some point this results in them being struck off the register (not sure if it is right away or if it only happens after successive non-returns), but there is always an advertising campaign in the run-up to elections encouraging people to make sure they're registered. If you move house and register somewhere new you have to give your old address, and you get struck off from the previous roll there even if it is a different part of the country. When you register a death that also results in the deceased person being automatically removed from the electoral register.

I usually work as a polling station presiding officer (as a council employee I get a day's paid leave to do it, plus the normal PO remittance of about $280 after tax) and you do usually get a handful of unregistered people turning up to vote, though normally you can work out the reason. We don't have election day registration but if the person is not registered because of a clerical error (e.g. they have had their name removed in error, or there are two people at the address with similar names who have been treated as one) that can be resolved provided they phone the electoral registration office before 6pm. When that happens the presiding officer gets a phone call from the election office and given details of the voter to record on a form, whereupon the elector is allowed to vote normally.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

70. I'd suggest 6 or possibly even 8 years, but

purges of those who haven't voted in a while are needed.


I ran for office in 2004, and I was going door-to-door with voter lists. Every so often there would be a house with about ten or more registrations and three or more different surnames. It always took a bit to figure out who of the registered voters really lived there.

If you don't bother to vote except only in a Presidential election, you are really making a mistake. There are always multiple opportunities to vote a whole lot more often than once every four years. Exercise that right.

[Mr.Bill]

73. Allowing same-day registration on election day

solves all the wrongful purging problems. That's why the suppressors fight against it.