Honest Elections Project Finds Serious Problems With Voter Registration Records In All Three States

WASHINGTON, DC – Voters in Colorado, Florida and Michigan today sent letters to election officials in all three states demanding that serious problems with voter registration records be addressed or lawsuits will be filed. The apparent irregularities were discovered through research conducted by the Honest Elections Project, an independent, nonprofit and nonpartisan elections watchdog organization.

“All three states have multiple counties where voter registration rates exceed 90 percent, in some cases they exceed 100 percent. In the last election in 2018, the nationwide registration rate according to the U.S. Census Bureau was 66.9 percent. That disparity is a clear sign these states aren’t maintaining accurate voter rolls,” said Jason Snead, executive director of the Honest Elections Project. “The public’s faith and confidence in election results will continue to decline until and unless these problems are addressed.”

The Numbers

  • In Colorado, 5 counties have above 100% registration, 19 counties are above 90%.
  • In Florida, 7 counties are above 100%, 27 counties are above 90%.
  • In Michigan, 1 county is above 100%, 18 counties are above 90%

Snead noted that bloated voter rolls are often due to state failures to remove outdated or invalid voter registrations—something the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) requires them to do. When states do not meet their legal obligation, the NVRA empowers individual voters to take action. After sending a notice letter, states have 90 days to address their apparent list maintenance problems or the voter can file suit.

“Elections increasingly are decided by close, sometimes razor-thin margins. For the American people, for voters, for the participants in these elections – no matter which party they belong to – we have to ensure every election is fair and honest,” Snead said.

He noted further that the NVRA was passed and signed into law in 1993 by President Bill Clinton. But in recent years serious problems have been flagged. In 2012, the Pew Center on the States revealed the scope of the problem: One out of every eight voter registrations—24 million in all—were inaccurate or outdated, nearly two million deceased voters remained registered, and 2.75 million people were registered in multiple states.

About Honest Elections Project

The Honest Elections Project is an independent, nonprofit and nonpartisan group devoted to supporting the right of every lawful voter to participate in free and honest elections. Through public engagement, advocacy, and public-interest litigation, the Honest Elections Project will defend the fair, reasonable, common sense measures that voters want in place to protect the integrity of the voting process. Above all, the Honest Elections Project supports the voting rights of all Americans—rights that require electoral systems to count every lawful ballot and guard against fraud.

Preserving the integrity of our democracy should be an issue above politics. That’s what American voters want, and the Honest Elections Project will make sure they get nothing less.

 

###