Two Georgia citizens have filed a federal lawsuit against Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. The plaintiffs claim that data from the state’s voter rolls and the U.S. Postal Service reveal a significant number of individuals who have moved out of Georgia but remain registered to vote in the state, violating the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA).
The lawsuit demands that Raffensperger comply with both the NVRA and Georgia law to maintain accurate voter rolls, aiming to protect Georgians’ right to vote from dilution. According to the suit, Georgia’s voter rolls contain thousands of invalid registrations from voters who have either moved out of state or relocated to a different county without updating their registration.
Because state offices were closed due to inclement weather, the plaintiffs served Raffensperger at his home with the lawsuit. Earlier in 2024, the Common Sense Elections group, using official Georgia data, identified thousands of questionable addresses where mail-in ballots could be sent but likely not received by actual voters. They also found over 30,000 instances of Georgia voters with multiple voter ID numbers, a concern likened to the government issuing multiple Social Security Numbers to the same person.
Common Sense Elections argues that Georgia’s voter rolls are among the most inaccurate in the country. However, the plaintiffs are not asking to cancel or remove any registrations. Instead, they want the court to order Raffensperger to direct county election offices to verify the accuracy of these registrations. If counties cannot confirm the validity of the addresses in question, the lawsuit seeks to have these registrations changed to “inactive” status. This change would not remove anyone from the rolls, and voters could easily reactivate their status by contacting their election office.
The lawsuit’s focus comes at a time when concerns about ballot harvesting and improper mail-in ballots are growing. According to Common Sense Elections, the lawsuit will help protect former Georgia residents from identity theft and illegal voting. The group also provided data analysis to support the lawsuit and funded the effort through donations collected via their website.
Read the lawsuit here.
