DeKalb Voter Registration and Elections urges residents to verify voter status

VRE Executive Director Keisha Smith: “Inactive status does not mean ineligible to vote’

DECATUR, GA—DeKalb County Voter Registration and Elections (DeKalb VRE) is urging residents to verify their voter status and make a plan to vote for the upcoming election. This call to action comes in response to an increase in voters’ registration statuses being classified as “inactive” following a recent countywide mailing of precinct cards to all registered voters.

Precinct cards were sent out in April. For voters whose precinct cards were returned by the US Postal Service as “not deliverable,” a Returned Mail Confirmation Notice was subsequently mailed by the Georgia Secretary of State’s vendor, KnowInk, in July 2024. Under Georgia law, recipients must return this confirmation notice within 30 days to retain their active voter registration status. Failure to do so results in the voter being classified as “inactive” until they update their voter registration online, contact DeKalb VRE, or vote in an election.

“We understand that seeing an ‘inactive’ voter registration status can be confusing and alarming,” said DeKalb VRE Executive Director Keisha Smith.. “However, I want to assure voters that an ‘inactive’ status does not mean they are ineligible to vote in this election. We appreciate our residents’ diligence in checking their voter registration status and swiftly addressing any issues.”

Voters can return to an active voter status by visiting the Secretary of State’s My Voter Page, contacting DeKalb VRE directly at 404-298-4020, or casting a ballot in the upcoming election. Election officials urge any voter who believes they were classified as inactive in error to contact the VRE office immediately.