Oregon to Remove 800,000 "Ghost" Voters from Rolls

Oregon will begin deleting approximately 800,000 inactive voter registrations. This action follows years of delay and increasing pressure from lawsuits. State officials announced the plan this week. An inactive voter is someone who has not voted or updated their registration in at least ten years. They also have not responded to official mail. The large number has drawn sharp criticism. "It's an astounding figure," said one government transparency advocate. Critics argue such outdated registrations risk election integrity. Oregon’s "motor voter" system automatically registers people to vote. It is credited with increasing voter participation. However, it also made managing the voter list more difficult. The state had failed to perform required clean-ups for years. Legal action by two groups finally forced the state to act. The cleanup process will start soon. Inactive voters will be notified before removal. Officials stress this targets registrations, not eligible voters. Any removed citizen can re-register at any time.