D.C. Cleans Up Voter Registration Rolls

More than 93,000 names cut from list

The D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics has declared term limits on inactive voters.

The board recently released a list of 93,773 inactive records that have been purged from the eligible voters list.

“None of these voters has cast a ballot in the District in at least eight years, nor responded to repeated notices from our office," spokesperson Alysoun McLaughlin said. "In addition, our mail to each one of these individuals has been returned undeliverable from the U.S. Postal Service, suggesting that they no longer live at the address where they originally registered.”

While the Board has fulfilled all legal requirements of the National Voter Registration Act in trying to reach these slumbering citizens, it has posted the list -- which runs more than 1,700 pages -- on its website in a final effort to encourage those listed to update their registration if they still reside in D.C.

It’s the latest move in a continuing effort by D.C. Council members and the elections office to streamline and simplify the process of voting in the District. Last fall, the Council passed legislation permitting Election Day registration, pre-registration for 16- and 17-year olds, and early voting.

That legislation also ordered the elections office to prepare a study on the feasibility of automatic voter registration. That study, released at the end of April, calls for the Department of Motor Vehicles, schools, and other D.C. agencies to send information to elections officials, who would automatically register them to vote. There would be no penalties for non-citizens added by mistake, and citizens who do not want to register could opt out.

The Brennan Center for Law and Justice called it "an admirable plan” that is “consistent with trends across the country."  By "heeding the Board of Elections’ recommendations," the Brennan Center said, "officials have the opportunity to demonstrate national leadership on this issue. ...  Our 19th century approach to registration will only continue to fall behind our increasingly mobile society.”

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