Recent mass challenges to Georgia voter rolls, driven by unreliable amateur data matching, fail to meet the legal standards required to remove voters from registration lists. Unlike election officials, who use safeguards such as postcards and a two-election-cycle waiting period for unresponsive voters, these activists typically rely on outdated databases and automated software, which can lead to numerous errors like false positives. These challenges, often filed en masse, are prohibited by the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) within 90 days of a federal election—a deadline which passed on August 7. State and local election officials thus cannot “systematically” remove voters until after this year’s election.
Adding to the concern, the current State Election Board investigation appears to lack the necessary expertise in election administration and election law, potentially undermining its credibility. Without such expertise, the inquiry may yield inaccurate conclusions that could mislead the public about the legitimacy of the county boards’ decisions.
Our comment urges the State Election Board to reaffirm that Georgia counties are lawfully handling these challenges, as federal and state law mandate. The comment was submitted to emphasize the importance of clear adherence to legal standards and the potential harm of an investigation lacking relevant qualifications. It explains that mass voter challenges based on unreliable data fail to meet Georgia’s legal standards and that county boards have the authority to dismiss these challenges rather than waste their time investigating them.
