MANSFIELD — A total of 3,796 Richland County voters recently had their names purged from voting rolls — meaning they currently can’t participate in the upcoming presidential election.
The action was part of a statewide effort in July by Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose to remove 154,995 inactive and out-of-state voters from the statewide voter registration database.
“Every Ohioan, regardless of their political views, should care about accurate voter rolls,” LaRose said in a statement. “Diligent list maintenance helps prevent voter fraud and ensures the voice of the voters is heard on Election Day.
“These registrations are eligible for removal under the law because records show they’re no longer residing or active at the registered address for at least the last four consecutive years,” LaRose said.
There are a couple of reasons why a once-registered voter might have been removed from the voter rolls:
- If they filled out a change-of-address form with the U.S. Postal Service signaling they have moved.
- They have not voted at their registered address in the past four years after being marked for removal by a county’s voter registration system.
The voter purge is part of Ohio’s process of updating its voter rolls and getting rid of voters who moved out-of-state or died, LaRose said.
Richland County Board of Elections Director Matt Finfgeld said most registrations eliminated from the rolls “have been inactive for a long time.”
“We’re not just talking voting … if they sign a petition, that’s activity. There’s a lot of things that qualify for activity. It’s not just voting,” he said.
The remarks came during a Richland County Board of Commissioners meeting on Tuesday to discuss plans for the upcoming presidential election cycle, joined by Deputy Director Jane Zimmermann.
(Below is a PDF with information on dates, candidates and issues from the Richland County Board of Elections for the Nov. 5 election.)
Zimmermann said the inactivity of some purged registrations dated back more than a decade.
Finfgeld said local elections officials hope the purge will not cause a problem during the Nov. 5 general election cycle.
“Obviously, we encourage people to go online and check their registration or call us at the board of elections (419-774-55300) to check their registration,” he said.
Residents are encouraged to do that prior to the start of early voting on Oct. 8.
“That way if there is a problem, they can take care of it, then get registered and make sure they’re good to vote on November 5th and they don’t get to that point without prior notification,” Finfgeld said.
Click here for information on how to register to vote. The deadline to register for the Nov. 5 election is Oct. 7.
The purge has had an impact on the number of registered voters.
During the 2020 presidential election, Richland County had 82,764 registered voters. According to the local elections board website, 72.9 percent of those residents (60,336) cast ballots.
As of Aug. 19, there were 79,367 registered voters in the county. Finfgeld told commissioners he thinks about 70 percent of eligible voters will cast ballots in this cycle.
Neither Finfgeld nor Zimmermann said they anticipate long lines on Election Day, despite it being a presidential election cycle.
The advent of early voting and absentee voting by mail has decreased activity on Election Day, itself, according to the bipartisan duo.
The lone exception, they said, could come on Sunday, Nov. 3, which is the final day for early voting. The local Board of Elections office will be open from 1 to 5 p.m. that day on Longview Avenue.
“The last day of early voting, they’re lined out the door,” Finfgeld said.
Even then, Zimmermann said the wait times will not be excessive.
“We’ve never had anyone wait more than 15, 20 minutes,” she said.
