Georgia Unveils New Tool for Voters to Cancel Registration Online

Critics worry that bad actors could misuse Georgia’s new web portal to cancel other people’s voter registrations without consent.

In late July, several social media posts claimed Georgia launched a web portal allowing anyone to cancel another person’s voter registration months ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

“Georgia just published a website where you can cancel other people’s voter registrations online,” an X post with over 1.3 million views stated, drawing responses of disbelief and confusion.

The Question

Did Georgia launch a voter registration cancellation web portal?

The Answer

Yes, Georgia launched a voter registration cancellation web portal. Georgia’s Secretary of State asserts the portal aims to keep voter rolls current, yet critics express concerns about potential misuse.

What We Found

Georgia election officials introduced the web portal on July 29, allowing residents to cancel their voter registration online using personal information, such as name, birthdate, county, driver’s license number, or a partial Social Security number.

The portal is designed to facilitate the update of voter rolls, particularly for individuals moving out of state. However, many Georgia Democrats worry the system makes it easy for others to cancel registrations without consent if they have the required personal information.

Georgia has over 8 million registered voters, with around 900,000 classified as inactive, who haven’t participated in an election or interacted with the state’s electoral system for the past five years.

Previously, canceling a voter registration involved mailing or emailing a form to the relevant county.

In his July 29 announcement, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger described the portal as “a convenient tool for any voter who wants to secure their registration by canceling their old one upon moving out of state.” He noted it would help maintain the voter registration database without relying on postal services.

To use the website, a voter must provide their first initial, last name, registration county, and date of birth on the initial page. The following page requires a driver’s license number or the last four digits of a Social Security number, plus confirmation of the intent to be removed from the voter list. The state’s computer system would then notify county officials to remove the voter from the rolls.

The initial rollout faced issues when a glitch allowed accessing a voter’s driver’s license number and the last four digits of their Social Security number by entering basic information, enabling unauthorized cancellations. The issue, attributed to a scheduled software update, was resolved within an hour.

Georgia Senate Minority Leader Gloria Butler remarked that the Senate Democratic Caucus first identified this “massive security flaw.” Despite the quick resolution, Butler and other Democrats maintain that the flaw highlights potential vulnerabilities for unauthorized cancellations.

VERIFY partner station WXIA in Atlanta contacted Raffensperger’s office about safeguards to protect against unauthorized registration cancellations. The office emphasized security tools meant to prevent misuse and trace any malicious attempts.

Georgia has long been a battleground for debates over voter roll maintenance, now intensified by national efforts led by Trump’s allies to scrutinize and challenge voter lists. Despite claims of voter fraud, few instances of improper out-of-state voting have been proven according to the Associated Press.

“We perform voter list maintenance in Georgia daily,” Raffensperger stated. “This portal is an additional method that’s convenient for voters and efficient for election officials.”

To check your voter registration status in Georgia, visit the “GA My Voter Page” on the Secretary of State’s website.

VERIFY partner station WXIA and the Associated Press contributed to this report.