“This is a milestone for Michigan’s secure and accessible election system,” Secretary Benson said. “State and local election officials are constantly working to maintain our voter rolls transparently, accurately, and in accordance with state and federal law. Our diligent efforts to keep our voter file up to date have helped us identify and take action to legally remove over 1.1 million out-of-date registrations from the rolls, while ensuring that eligible voters retain their rights under the law.”  

Michigan has approximately 7.3 million active registered voters and a total voting age population of about 7.9 million citizens. The state’s Qualified Voter File (QVF) currently includes approximately 577,000 inactive registrations that are slated for cancellation as well as about 600,000 inactive voter registrations belonging to voters who have not cast a ballot in the last six years and who may have died or moved. State and federal law require these inactive registrations to remain in the QVF unless election officials receive reliable information that the voter is no longer eligible to vote, which could include the voter surrendering a Michigan driver’s license to another state or election mail sent to the voter being returned to their clerk as undeliverable by the U.S. Postal Service. Michigan also participates in the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), a nonpartisan national tool that compares voter files across member states and will alert Michigan officials if a voter has recently registered in another state.  

When state or local election officials receive this reliable information, federal law requires that the voter receive notice and remain on the voter rolls for two federal election cycles (up to four years) unless they confirm that they have moved. If the voter does not respond to their clerk or vote in that period, officials cancel their registration.  

Michigan has done more in the last six years to improve the accuracy of the state’s voter rolls than was done in the previous two decades – dedicating extensive resources to identifying out-of-date registrations. The Bureau of Elections sent election mail to every registered voter in 2020, and every mailing returned by the post office as undeliverable triggered the two-federal cycle waiting period for that voter. Inactive voters also received notice prior to the 2022 election that their registration could be eligible for cancellation.  

Michigan is one of the most active states in the country in removing registrations of voters who have died – ranking fifth in the nation in 2022 according to data from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. Clerks receive information daily from the Social Security Death Index and can use other information like obituaries or death notifications from the voter’s family to remove them from the voter file.  

In many cases, voters with inactive registrations are still eligible but have chosen not to vote in recent elections. In the 2024 General Election, more than 71,000 formerly inactive voters returned to legally cast their vote. This underscores the importance of the notice and waiting period before cancelling registrations belong to voters who might have moved but who might still be Michigan residents.  

There is no evidence than inactive voter registrations have been used to fraudulently cast ballots in Michigan elections. Anyone with evidence of this illegal activity should report it to their local law enforcement agency.  

With today’s announcement, voters who are slated for cancellation in April have one last opportunity to keep their registration active. Michiganders can now email ElectionData@michigan.gov to request a copy of the cancellation list. Listed voters have until March 28 to review and update their registration prior to cancellation. Voters can also always check their registration status online at Michigan.gov/Vote or by contacting their local clerk.  

Michigan voters whose registrations are cancelled can re-register at any time, including up to and on Election Day.  

For more information on the state’s voter list maintenance procedures, visit Michigan.gov/Vote.