More than 318,000 inactive voter registrations are set to be removed from Michigan's voter rolls next month, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson announced on Tuesday.
According to the Secretary of State's Office, the state has 7.3 million active registered voters and a voting age population of 7.9 million citizens.
The office said that the state's Qualified Voter File (QVF) includes about 577,000 inactive registrations that are set to be canceled as well as about 600,000 inactive voter registrations belonging to voters who haven't voted in the last six years and who may have died or moved.
Under state and federal law, inactive registrations must remain in the QVF unless election officials get reliable information the voter is no longer eligible to vote, which could include the voter surrendering a Michigan driver’s license to another state or election mail sent to the voter being returned to their clerk as undeliverable by the U.S. Postal Service.
Benson said that under her administration, more than 1.1 million out-of-date registrations will have been removed.
“This is a milestone for Michigan’s secure and accessible election system,” Benson said in a statement. “State and local election officials are constantly working to maintain our voter rolls transparently, accurately, and in accordance with state and federal law. Our diligent efforts to keep our voter file up to date have helped us identify and take action to legally remove over 1.1 million out-of-date registrations from the rolls, while ensuring that eligible voters retain their rights under the law.”
According to data from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, Michigan ranked fifth in the nation in 2022 for removing registrations of voters who have died.
With the announcement, voters who are slated to have their registrations canceled in April have one last chance to keep it active. They can email ElectionData@michigan.gov to request a copy of the cancellation list, then listed voters have until March 28 to review an update their registration. They can also check their registration status on the Michigan.gov/Vote website.
