Today, Secretary of State Connie Lawson gave an update on the results of the voter list refresh project. In June, the Secretary of State Election Division mailed 755,848 postcards to Hoosier voters asking them to update their voter registration information. This was the second round of postcards following more than 4.4 million postcards mailed in May.

Approximately 47,493 voters in Indiana participated in the voter list refresh project by updating their voter registration by the July 24 due date. Approximately 450,208 postcards from the second mailing were returned by the post office as undeliverable as addressed with the remainder continuing to trickle in each day.

“I am committed to protecting the voting process here in Indiana by making sure that each county has accurate voter registration lists,” said Secretary Lawson. “We’ve been able to identify 731,585 records that either needed updating or were no longer valid. By updating these records or adding them to the inactive list, we are one step closer to getting a more accurate picture of voter turnout and protecting the integrity of our elections.”

County election officials have been using the information from the voter list refresh to update Indiana’s list of voters. The counties take the mailings that identify inaccurate voter registration information and mark those voters records as inactive. To date, 696,407 voter registrations have been marked inactive. Aug. 6 was the federal deadline for counties to process data from the voter list refresh before the November 2014 election. Counties will resume processing this data after the election.

A voter on the inactive list can still vote in November. Being on the inactive list simply means a voter did not update or confirm their information. If the voter casts a ballot from that address in November, their record will be reclassified as active. If an inactive voter does not vote in November, they can still vote in the municipal elections of 2015 and the federal elections of 2016.

If they do not vote in any election prior to January 2017, the county voter registration office will remove their record from the poll lists. If there is any discrepancy, there are electronic records of each card and the counties will have access to the hard copies.

The voter list refresh project will also give Hoosiers a more accurate view of voter participation in future elections. When voter lists are bloated with inaccurate information, turnout statistics are artificially lowered. For example, if the voter registrations that Indiana moved to the inactive list were excluded from the overall number of registered voters used to calculate turnout for the May 2014 Primary Election, actual turnout would have been more than 17 percent, instead of 13 percent. In the 2012 General Election, Indiana would have had more than 71 percent voter participation instead of 58 percent. This would have put Indiana in the top states in the country for turnout.

“Thank you to the bipartisan Election Division and to the county election officials for helping make this project a success,” said Secretary Lawson. “I know there is still work to be done, but I wish to commend the counties for their cooperation and patience during this process. Their experience and feedback will help guide us when the next voter list refresh is conducted in two years.”

All voters are encouraged to check their voter registration information online at www.indianavoters.comor at their local county clerk‚s office and update their information if necessary. Voters may contact the Secretary of State’s office with questions at 1-866-IN-1-VOTE, [email protected] or 200 W. Washington St. Room 201, Indianapolis, IN 46204.