Nov 19, 2014 2 min read

HARRISBURG – Tens of thousands of registered voters may soon be asked to verify that Pennsylvania is their residence or risk being purged from its voter rolls.

State elections officials said Wednesday they are in the process of sending to county elections officials lists of nearly 43,000 Pennsylvania voters who apparently registered more recently in other states.

The county officials will notify individual voters to verify their state of residence. Those who do not respond and do not vote in the next two two-year federal election cycles could be removed from Pennsylvania’s rolls.

Pennsylvania is one of 28 states participating in the Interstate Voter Registration Crosscheck program, in which voters lists are compared to ensure accuracy and reduce duplicate registrations. The program is run by the state of Kansas at no cost to the other states.

“Having as accurate and up-to-date voter lists as possible will help instill confidence in our elections,” said Secretary of State Carol Aichele.

Pennsylvania joined the multi-state collaboration last year, but this is the first time that notices are being sent to voters who apparently are registered in more than one state, said Ron Ruman, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of State.

Earlier this year, the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania criticized state officials for not providing enough information about the planned purging of duplicate registrations, but withdrew its objections after more discussions with the department.