State removes 200K from voter rolls
Number includes 32K who haven’t confirmed address
MADISON - Election officials have removed more than 200,000 Wisconsinites from the voter rolls in recent weeks, in most cases because they had not cast ballots in the last four years.
State law requires the Wisconsin Elections Commission to remove voters from the rolls if they have not voted in the last four years and do not respond to a mailing asking them if they want to keep their voter registrations active.
That resulted in about 174,000 people being taken off the state’s voter list, according to an announcement the commission made Wednesday.
Separately, the commission deactivated the voter registrations of about 32,000 Wisconsinites who have not confirmed their addresses since 2019. Those voters have not voted in the last two years, according to the commission.
In all, about 206,000 voters were removed from the rolls.
Those who have been removed from the rolls can re-register online, by mail, in clerks’ offices or at the polls. They will need to have proof of residence to restore their voter registrations.
Removing people from the voting rolls because they have not voted in four years has generated few fights. But taking voters off the rolls because they are believed to have moved has proved to be controversial in recent years.
The commission identifies voters who may have moved by reviewing other government records, such as those maintained by the Division of Motor Vehicles. It then contacts them asking them to update their address or confirm they have not moved.
A group of conservatives sued in 2019 arguing the commission must quickly remove voters from the rolls after contacting them. In a 5-2 ruling in April, the state Supreme Court disagreed.
That let stand the commission’s policy of waiting two years before taking voters off the rolls if they did not respond to the mailing asking whether they had moved.