308,000 Double-Registered Between VA and Other States

The latest survey shows that 308,000 voters are double-registered in Virginia and another state. As discussed in a previous post, 44,000 of those are registered in both Virginia and Maryland.

The Virginia Voters Alliance (VVA) carefully analyzed the election records of 22 states and found the 308,000 voters, “by matching names, birth dates, and the last four digits of Social Security numbers.” VVA also reported “big gaps” in voter registration. VVA President Reagan George explains, “[s]ay you move to Kansas and tell the election office there that you were registered in Virginia when you submit your Kansas voter-registration form. If the Kansas election official is bureaucratically lazy or politically motivated, your name never gets removed. The same thing can happen on the Virginia end, and you stay double-registered.”

Virginia’s State Board of Elections admitted encountering “voter registration problems” and “inactive voter registrations” in 2012.

In light of this information, Virginia is taking steps to remove these double-registered individuals from the rolls. Effective systems are in place to identify double-registrations. The Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) empowers states to coordinate in finding duplicate registered voters. States can voluntarily contribute voter information to this centralized database that tracks voter records. As a founding participant in 2012, Virginia now uses this system to aid states in its pursuit of fair elections.