Mystery grows as 1 million voters have been purged from Florida’s rolls as number of registered Democrats drops by nearly 10% while Republicans only lose 3% of registered voters

Nearly a million voters were purged from Florida voter registration rolls over the past year, leading to speculation about the impact on the 2024 election.

As of Nov. 30, the number of actively registered voters in the Sunshine State fell by 996,676 voters between 2022 and 2023, according to data from the Florida Department of State.

The number of actively registered voters in the Florida Democratic Party fell by 467,337 voters, or nearly 10 percent. The number of actively registered voters in Republican-leaning Florida fell by 153,369, or about three percent.

The total number of voters removed from the rolls will likely increase after December data is collected, the South Florida Sun Sentineldue to routine list maintenance.

However, the drop in registered voters is worrying some heading into this year’s election season, as people brace for a highly contentious presidential race and hot-button issues like abortion are expected to be on the agenda.

The number of active registered voters in the Sunshine State fell by nearly 1 million between 2022 and 2023. Pictured are two women at a voter registration booth on St. Augustine Beach in Florida in 2020.

Broward County, the state’s second-largest county, had a total of 1.3 million registered voters between November 2022 and November 2023, then dropped to 1.1 million in December, according to data from the Broward County Supervisors of Elections.

In Palm Beach County, the supervisor of elections data shows that the total number of registered voters increased from 946,189 in September to 847,617 in October.

The drop in voter numbers appears to be due to the routine maintenance of registration lists conducted by each county election supervisor, which is required by the state.

Florida state law says, “The supervisor must implement a general registration list maintenance program to protect the integrity of the election process by ensuring the maintenance of accurate and current voter registration information in the statewide voter registration system.”

“Each supervisor must conduct a registration list maintenance program at least once a year, beginning no later than April 1, and must be completed at least 90 days before the date of any federal election.”

In 2023, the state legislature passed new laws that are likely behind the big jump in numbers.

Regulators are required to send notices to voters who did not participate in the last two general elections. If those voters do not respond, they will be moved to the inactive list.

“You have to do something to let us know that you are still here and that you intend to continue participating and voting. You become reactive,” said Broward elections supervisor Joe Scott.

‘In principle, this group of people will no longer be eligible if they do not participate in anything between now and December 2026, then they will no longer be eligible. They have the ’24 (election) cycle and the ’26 cycle.’

A ballot initiative that would enshrine abortion rights in the Florida Constitution reached the necessary number of verified signatures to qualify for the 2024 ballot.

The decline in voters appears to be shifting from a routine registration list that moves people who have not voted in the past two elections to inactive status. Pictured voters line up to cast their ballots in Palm Harbor, Florida on October 27, 2020

The decline in the number of registered voters is worrying some ahead of the 2024 election season. Generic polling station pictured

A TikTok user speculated that the purge of the state’s voter rolls could be related to preventing that ballot initiative from passing.

In April, Florida Governor and presidential candidate Ron DeSantis signed a law banning abortions in the Sunshine State after six weeks of pregnancy.

“It’s because they know that Florida women are about to have abortion rights written into the Constitution in 2024, right here in the state of Florida,” says TikTok user Chasing Oz.

Fact-checking organization PolitiFact said, “County election officials must follow state law to remove voters from the active list, and voters on the inactive list are removed years later.”

“There could have been a question on the November ballot to protect the right to abortion, but there is no evidence that this influenced election officials updating voter rolls.”