New York Voter Purge

Lawsuit filed in federal court by Judicial Watch, a conservative organization, claiming that New York’s election officials have failed to adequately remove ineligible voters from the state’s voter rolls and thus thousands of voters should be purged from its lists. The complaint, brought against the New York State Board of Elections, the Board of Elections in the City of New York and other state election officials, asserts that by neglecting to remove large swaths of voters from the state’s lists, the defendants are violating the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA). Specifically, the plaintiff alleges that the state’s election officials are failing to comply with provisions of the NVRA and New York state law that require “inactive” voters to be removed from voter rolls if they change residences, fail to respond to an address confirmation notice and subsequently fail to vote in the next two general federal elections. The lawsuit asks the court to find that the defendants are violating their voter list maintenance obligations under Section 8 of the NVRA and for an order that the defendants must implement “a general program that makes a reasonable effort to remove ineligible registrations from the voter rolls.” Lastly, Judicial Watch asks the court to allow it to “inspect” and “copy” records and data from various boards of elections throughout the state.

On Dec. 28, 2022, Judicial Watch released a statement detailing a settlement agreement with New York City about future list maintenance efforts. The organization then voluntarily dismissed its case.

Last updated: January 3, 2023 2:10 pm EST