Registered Voter List: Have You Been Purged?

Some 518 names were purged from the registered voter list in Manassas Park by state election officials, Patricia Brendel, Manassas Park Voter Registrar, said this week.

Virginia State Board of Elections officials performed a statewide voter purge or cancellation of inactive registered voters earlier this month.

The process happens every two years. People who haven't voted in the past two federal elections are removed as registered voters, Brendel said.

Have you been purged in Manassas Park? View the cancellation list on the city's website or the PDF on the right.

Before being purged, voters are put on an inactive list when the address information the state board of elections has doesn't match U.S. Postal Service records, she said.

Election officials send out a letter asking for residence confirmation; if that letter is returned then that person is deemed inactive by the board of elections.

In many cases, people end up on the inactive lists because they moved without updating their voting information, thinking it will be updated automatically, Brendel said.

Voter information can be updated at the department of motor vehicles or, beginning in July, online at the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles website.

That's when new legislation allowing people to fill out voter registration forms online goes into effect. Right now voter registration forms can be requested online but must be sent by mail, she said.

Anyone who discovers they have been purged from the registered voter lists can simply register again to vote at their local voter registration office.