Voter Mailers Sent To Deceased Dog, Residents Prompt GA Probe

ATLANTA, GA — State officials have launched an investigation into multiple organizations accused of sending voter registration forms to deceased residents, as well as a deceased family dog.

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Thursday announced the probe into Ready to Register and other third-party organizations after his office received several reports of the mailers being sent to people who have died.

Raffensperger's office is working to decide if the mailings violate state law "or otherwise undermine confidence in the state's election system," his office said.

According to the secretary, third-party voter registration groups send out these mailings ahead of major elections often utilizing "outdated commercial databases that contain inaccurate or obsolete information."

Georgia is not the only state that has been put on notice regarding Ready to Register, which offers an online platform for voter registration. North Carolina residents were previously alerted that these mailers were also sent to deceased people there, Raffensperger said.

"Groups like this highlight the unreliability of commercial data," Raffensperger said in a news release. "Georgia maintains one of the cleanest voter rolls in the nation through continuous list maintenance and citizenship verification. These outside organizations don't use those standards. Instead, they flood mailboxes with inaccurate solicitations that confuse voters and waste election officials' time."

Raffensperger encouraged residents to disregard any unsolicited voter registration mail if they are already registered with their current address. Voters can check their registration status on Georgia's My Voter Page.