‘We don’t want people to be caught off guard’ — Campaign targets canceled WV voter registrations

Mailers were sent to 14,475 voters in West Virginia who were purged from voter register rolls because of inactivity and those who may have moved. A polling station at Edgewood Summit in Charleston, W.Va., during the 2024 primary election. (Lori Kersey | West Virginia Watch)

Are you registered to vote? A West Virginia coalition wants to make sure everyone knows the answer to that question sooner rather than later.

West Virginians for Clean Elections, a nonpartisan coalition led by Community Action Group, has mailed notices to thousands of residents whose voter’s registration has been removed because of inactivity.

“We don’t want those people to be caught off guard if they decide they’re really interested in the election this year and want to vote,” coordinator Julie Archer said. “We don’t want them to be caught off guard and go to the polls and find out that they’re no longer on the rolls.”

Since 2016, the West Virginia Secretary of State’s Office has removed 408,397 names from the voter registration rolls, said Landon Palmer, assistant communications director for the office. State and federal laws require maintenance to the voter registration database, Palmer said.

Names are removed most commonly because of death, moving out of state, felony conviction and inactivity, Palmer said.

In a release last week, Citizens for Clean Elections said the number of voters removed since 2016 was “unprecedented.”

“It seems high to us,” Archer said. “This is a process that they go through all the time but it seems like a high number to us.”

During the year following the presidential election, the Secretary of State’s Office sends a notice to people who have not voted in the last four years or whom officials believe may not be eligible to vote because they’ve moved out of state. The notices ask people to update or confirm their registration information. Those that do not respond or whom the post office says are undeliverable are moved to “inactive” status.

Inactive voters who don’t update or confirm their information and who don’t vote in the following two presidential elections have their registration canceled.

During this year’s regular legislative session, Senate Bill 622had it passed, would have sped up the process by which the Secretary of State’s Office removes inactive voters. The bill passed in the Senate but failed to obtain traction in the House of Delegates.

The coalition sends mailers Aug. 26 to 14,475 voters purging because of inactivity and those who may have moved. A second mailer was expected to reach mailboxes Sept. 11. The mailers included information about the voter roll purge and a guide for recipients about how to check their registration status and re-register if they need to.

West Virginia Citizens for Clean Elections recommends to everyone who wants to vote that they check their registration well in advance of the November general election, even if they believe they are registered.

“We’re targeting this specific group of people because they have been removed, and we want to make sure that they have an opportunity to get reregistered if they want to vote in this year’s election,” Archer said. “But it’s a good reminder to anyone to just double check your registration ahead of the deadline, so you don’t miss the opportunity to have your voice heard in the election.”

To check your voter registration status through the West Virginia Secretary of State’s office, visit or www.GoVoteWV.com. The deadline to register to vote in this year’s election is Oct. 15.

The general election is Tuesday, Nov. 5.

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