Virginia Agency Mistakenly Tells 125,000 They Can't Vote

The Virginia Department of Elections mistakenly mailed notifications to nearly 125,000 registered Virginia voters claiming they were no longer eligible to vote, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports.

“If you no longer consider the Virginia voter registration address printed below to be your address of residence, please help us keep the commonwealth’s voter registration rolls accurate by completing and returning the ‘request to cancel voter registration’ form at the bottom of this letter,” the letter reads.

An email sent to Virginia registrars Tuesday from Matthew J. Davis, the Department of Elections’ chief information officer, said the letters were mistakenly sent to individuals who had not moved out of the state.

“The individuals had moved or updated their address with DMV, but the update was in-state and they should not have been included in the ‘What’s Your Status’ mailing,” Davis wrote.

If you receive an email from a voter regarding this, Davis instructs, let them know the letter was sent in error and verify your current address.

The Virginia Department of Elections routinely collects information on voters who may have changed their address to ensure voter registration records are accurate and up-to-date. The Department plans to send a new mailing those impacted and is “working quickly to remedy this mistake,” says Edgardo Cortés, Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Elections.

Voters who received the letter in error are asked to verify their voter registration address at www.vote.virginia.gov or contact their local registrar.