Ohio voter rolls to be purged in September unless inactive registrations are updated

If you're an Ohio voter who hasn't voted in four years or you have moved and failed to update your registration, you better vote in the May primary or you could get purged from voter rolls. No registered voters will be removed or "purged" from voter rolls before the May 6 primary, Secretary of State Frank LaRose said Monday. The statewide list has 352,389 inactive voters eligible for removal from the statewide voter registration database by Sept. 23, he said. Lorain County Board of Elections Director Paul Adams said Tuesday that the state required that a "last chance" or "Registry Readiness Notice" be sent to voters. His office sent those notices out last week. The easiest way to remain an active voter is simply to vote in the May primary, which is considered performing "voting activity," Adams said. A voter deemed inactive because of failure to update an address with the Board of Elections and the state can do so at the Lorain County Board of Elections website, www.voteloraincountyohio.gov, and then clicking on the "Register/Update Your Registration" tab on the right hand side of the page. Anyone whose registration has been removed as inactive can re-register at any time as long as they are eligible to vote in Ohio. Registration status checks and registration can be done online at VoteOhio.gov, and the "Registration Readiness List" can be searched online at RegistrationReadiness.OhioSOS.gov. Voters also can respond to mailed notices in order to keep their registrations active, according to LaRose. Abandoned registrations will be canceled on Sept. 23. The 2025 general election is Nov. 4. LaRose said in a news release the legally-required process of removing inactive voter registrations "helps assure accurate, up-to-date voter rolls across the state" while protecting voters who remain active. The state identifies inactive voters using the National Change of Address, which according to LaRose's office identifies voters who have shown no voting activity for a period of four years and compares voter rolls with the U.S. Postal Service database to identify people who have moved and failed to update their registration. A supplemental process identifies voters with no voting activity for a period of six years. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.