Issues

What's Happening?

The Georgia Secretary of State's office is conducting a Voter List audit to remove voters identified as "Inactive" from the voter rolls.  Cancellation mailers are being sent to 477,883 registrants between July and September 2025.  The office sent voters a notice earlier when they went to inactive status.  Now they are sending them a mailer informing them they will be canceled if they do not respond within 40 days after the mailer was sent out.

Who Is Affected?

There are 4 reasons that voters were placed in inactive status:

1. They were identified as having moved out of state through Georgia’s membership in the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC).

2. They were identified as having filed a national change of address (NCOA) with the United States Postal Service. 

3. They were identified as having no contact with their elections office in 5 calendar years. “No contact” means they did not vote, submit an updated registration application, or have other activity with their elections office.

4. Their local elections office received an undeliverable mail notice when sending mail to the voter's address on record.

The list of 477,883 voters includes 37,510 in Cobb County and 9,864 in Cherokee County.

What Can You Do?

If you receive a voter notice from the GA Sec. of State, don’t panic!  

Take one of these steps to keep your active status and your right to vote.

1. 1. Submit a voter registration update through Online Voter Registration in the My Voter Page on the Georgia Sec. of State website. -  - My Voter Page: https://mvp.sos.ga.gov/s/ 

   2. Complete and return the postcard included with the cancellation mailer you received.
      Return it ASAP to ensure it is received before the deadline, which is 40 days after it was sent.

   3. Complete a Georgia voter registration application (online or on paper) and return it to your local elections office.
      -  Online registration:  https://mvp.sos.ga.gov/s/olvr-home
      -  Download and print a paper copy: https://mvp.sos.ga.gov/resource/1648789623000/GAOLVR
      - Find your local county elections office: https://mvp.sos.ga.gov/s/county-election-offices

What is redistricting and how does it affect you?

Redistricting is the process of creating representational voting district maps for states and local communities. By defining the areas included in each mapped boundary, redistricting controls population and voting groups for US and local government offices.  Those put in office then determine  how resources are distributed for those areas.

The goal of the LWVUS People Powered Fair Maps program is to create fair and transparent, people-powered redistricting processes to eliminate partisan and racial gerrymandering in states nationwide.  

By building a national movement to advance redistricting nationally, we are working to put the power over the redistricting process back in the hands of the people.  

See more information about People Powered Fair Maps and related efforts on the Redistricting page on our LWV US website.

The deceptively-named Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act passed in the House of Representatives, but we must work to ensure it will not pass in the Senate.  This federal law would require very  specific citizenship documents to register to vote.  Long-standing laws in all 50 states already require voters to verify their citizenship status when registering with common accepted forms of ID.

The SAVE Act would create a greater barrier to the voting process, as many eligible voters do not have easy access to the less-common  documents it specifies, like a passport or birth certificate.  Compared to white US citizens, citizens of color are three times more likely to lack documents such as birth certificates, passports, naturalization certificates, or certificates of citizenship, and face difficulties accessing them. For example, while half of all American adults possess a passport, two-thirds of Black Americans do not.

See more information on our LWVUS page on the SAVE Act

Act now to specifically contact your Georgia US Senators to ask them to vote NO on this voter restriction law.  See their contact information below:

Reach out to Senator Raphael Warnock

• Contact/e-mail

• Phone:  Atlanta - 770-694-7828  /  Washington, DC - 202-224-3643

Reach out to Senator Jon Ossoff

• Contact/e-mail

• Phone:  Atlanta - 470-786-7800  /  Washington, DC - 202-224-3521

You can find out how to contact any of your elected officials here.

U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-07) introduced H.R. 14, the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act on March 5, 2025. The bill aims to restore and modernize protections of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA).  It is co-sponsored by every House Democrat and supported by more than 140 organizations across the US.

The 1965 Voting Rights Act has been a crucial tool for curbing racial discrimination in voting and representation. In 2013, the Supreme Court’s decision in Shelby County v. Holder stripped a key protection of the law, federal preclearance for voting law changes.  This has allowed states to enact a multitude of new discriminatory voting laws and  practices, including restrictive voter ID laws, polling place closures and voter registration roll purges. 

You can find out how to contact your US Congressman here to urge them to support this bill.