A Contentious Procedure
One of the most contentious list maintenance procedures that has been used in some systems is the
so-called nonvoting purge. This refers to the removal from the voters list of the registration
records of individuals who have not voted in a certain number of consecutive elections, normally
two. In most of the United States, nonvoting has been used as a trigger for purging. If a person
did not have a record of voting during the prescribed time, procedures required one or more
mailings to confirm the voter's absence before removal took place. Alternatively, voters were
mailed a registration form or provided information on re-registration.
Rationale
Supporters of the nonvoting purge suggest that this technique is an important cost-savings device,
by enabling a reduction in the number of voters required to be contacted by the election authority
when official voter registration material was mailed. Supporters claim that methods of identifying
voters who have died, moved out of an electoral district, or lost their eligibility are incomplete and
imperfect. Therefore, in their view, the nonvoter purge enabled the production of a more accurate
list of those currently eligible.
Excluding the Eligible
Critics of the purge, however, maintain that it is a thinly-veiled means of depriving the rights of
those who are less likely to participate in politics and to vote in elections. The nonvoting purge
effectively eliminates people who are most difficult to register and who are more likely to be
socially and economically marginalised. In the United States, when nonvoting purges were widely
used, one of the major features of the Motor Voter Act was a prohibition of such purges. Indeed,
the act states that in maintaining voter lists, election authorities at the state and national level 'may
not remove the name of a voter from the list of eligible voters by reason of a person's failure to
vote.'
A Good or Bad Method of List Maintenance?
Today, there is a widespread division of opinion over the usefulness of nonvoting purges. Some
kind of effective purge is necessary to avoid a list that has problems with currency. Inflated voter
lists do nothing to enhance the reputation of election administrators, and provide a distorted view
of voter turnout. Automatic nonvoting purges may be a bit harsh, but a process notifying people
that they may be deleted, unless they respond within a specified time, is viewed by some as entirely
justifiable.
