One of the largest mass voter registration cancellations in U.S. history may be disproportionately impacting Black Georgians who could be eligible to vote, according to a new analysis by Fair Fight, one of the state’s most prominent voting rights advocacy groups.
On July 10, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office sent cancellation mailers to nearly 478,000 registered voters following a related announcement earlier this year. State election officials say they conduct “voter list maintenance” during off-year election seasons to ensure accurate and up-to-date voter rolls, improve election day efficiency, and prevent potential voter fraud.
Non-Hispanic Black people make up about 31% of registered voters in Georgia. According to Fair Fight’s analysis, they made up 32% of individuals on the cancellation list, but that number maxed out at more than 44% when people most likely to have moved out of Georgia — those who voted in other states in 2022 and 2024 — were removed from the overall count.
Fair Fight’s researchers determined only about 35% of people on the cancellation list were white when the same factors were considered, despite white voters comprising roughly 50% of the state’s registered voters.
Fair Fight’s findings raise anti-Black voter suppression concerns more than a year ahead of a pivotal 2026 midterm election cycle that will determine the next governor of Georgia and could decide the balance of power between Democrats and Republicans, both in Atlanta’s Gold Dome and on Capitol Hill.
Fair Fight CEO Lauren Groh-Wargo told Capital B Atlanta that the nonprofit’s research shows Georgia’s voter registration cancellation list “disproportionately targets Black Georgians who likely still live here.”
She noted that young voters, ages 18-34, were the largest age group on the cancellation list (31%). Voters ages 34-44 came in second at nearly 26%.
“Once again, politicians are rushing to remove voters based on unreliable data — and young Black voters are bearing the brunt,” Groh-Wargo told Capital B Atlanta via email on Friday.
Groh-Wargo also noted that GOP Gov. Brian Kemp oversaw the voter registration cancellation of more than 670,000 Georgians in 2017 when Kemp served as secretary of state.
Kemp also put 53,000 voter registrations on hold in 2018 to conduct an exact-match signature analysis. Black Georgians made up 70% of people who had their registrations put on hold in 2018, according to an Associated Press analysis.
“It’s voter suppression by administrative process,” Groh-Wargo said.
Fair Fight’s research also examined demographic data to determine which political party people on the cancellation list are most likely to support. President Donald Trump has helped the Republican Party make gains with Black voters since 2016, but African Americans still overwhelmingly back Democrats over GOP candidates in most elections.
Fair Fight determined just over half of those on Georgia’s latest voter registration cancellation list (50.64%) were likely to vote Democrat, while likely Republican voters made up just under 30%. Projected independent voters were nearly 20% of people on the list.
When reached for comment, a representative from Raffensperger’s office accused Fair Fight of “incorrectly” interpreting demographic data of those on the cancellation list “in an attempt to portray routine list maintenance as a nefarious partisan or racial exercise.”
“No voter in Georgia is ever registered by party, which makes any attempt to target expired voter registration records by partisan affiliation impossible and the subsequent conclusions and allegations by Fair Fight deceptive,” a department spokesman told Capital B Atlanta via email on Friday.
State election officials say current and former Georgia voters who haven’t had contact with their local elections office in the state for five or more years are considered to be in “inactive status,” making them eligible to have their voter registration canceled.
Dying, moving away, committing a felony, or simply choosing not to vote for more than five years and two general election cycles are reasons people’s voter registration can be classified as inactive and eventually canceled.
“No active voters are being hindered in any way by this [cancellation] mailing, and any voter that is impacted has multiple options to make sure they can remain in active status,” the secretary of state spokesperson added.
Voters who receive a cancellation notice in the mail have until Aug. 20 to respond by filling out and sending back the included mailer. They can also respond by registering to vote online or in person at their local election office.
State election officials also noted Fair Fight is the group founded by Stacey Abrams, a Democrat, that lost a lawsuit in 2022 that accused the state of voter discrimination.
In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Steve Jones wrote that Georgia’s election system “is not perfect.” He determined, however, that the state’s “exact match” rules — which flag new voters for inconsistencies in names, including apostrophes and hyphens, and mandate they verify their ID before casting ballots — didn’t violate provisions of the U.S. Constitution and Voting Rights Act barring discrimination based on race.
Jones later ordered Fair Fight to repay $231,000 to the state of Georgia as a result of the ruling.
“False accusations of discrimination are not only unreasonable, but also expensive,” Raffensberger’s spokesperson added.
Fair Fight officials said they’re not actively pursuing a related lawsuit at this time. Other voting rights organizations may be looking to do so.
The group launched a new tool on Friday to allow Georgians to check if their name is on the state’s latest voter registration cancellation list. You can also check your registration status online on the state’s My Voter Page.
