Citizen Volunteers Got 20,000 People Who Moved Out Of Pennsylvania Off The Voter Rolls
When voters move away, their registrations can linger in the voter registration system for a decade or more — unless they submit a paper form to remove themselves. Most people are not aware of this requirement, so hundreds of citizens in Pennsylvania volunteered to change that. Secure elections begin with accurate voter rolls, and maintaining current lists of registered voters is critical to safeguarding the voting system.
In May of 2024, the Election Research Institute, a nonpartisan think tank, analyzed voter registration records in Pennsylvania and found that more than 200,000 individuals on the voter rolls had filed a permanent out-of-state change of address with the U.S. Postal Service. Hundreds of volunteers across the Commonwealth began mailing letters to those 200,000 potential out-of-state movers using the ERI letter template. (See example below.) The response was remarkable. A review of voter registration cancellations found that more than 20,000 individuals who were sent letters subsequently submitted the form requesting removal from the voter rolls.
Over the previous five years, the average number of removals at the request of the voter was 4,125 per year. In 2024, Pennsylvania counties saw an increase of over 500 percent — astonishing results from a group of citizen volunteers. A report released on June 30 by the PA Department of State confirmed the extraordinary number of requests for removal.
Many letter recipients sent notes of gratitude to the volunteers who wrote to them. They reported that they did not know they were still registered in Pennsylvania and that they didn’t know they had to submit a form to remove themselves. (Read more from “Citizen Volunteers Got 20,000 People Who Moved Out Of Pennsylvania Off The Voter Rolls” HERE)
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