SNAIL MAIL. Could mail delivery problems be responsible for thousands of voter cancellations in Georgia?

Election officials canceled 471,000 voter registrations last week, including 102,000 because their election mail was undeliverable. Returned mail usually indicates that a voter has moved from Georgia.

But 5,500 voters saved their registrations from cancellation by confirming their addresses. A significant portion had been flagged for removal because of returned mail, according to a review of election records by the AJC’s Mark Niesse.

Problems with the U.S. Postal Service are well-documented in recent years, including slow delivery times associated with a move toward regional processing hubs. Disruptions from Hurricane Helene also played a role.

And before last year’s election, voters complained that their election mail had been returned to sender even though they hadn’t moved away.

About 35% of the 5,500 voters who salvaged their registrations were initially facing cancellation because of returned mail. That was a higher rate than the 23% who faced cancellation because they filled out a change-of-address form at some point in the past but retain Georgia residency.

The rest of the voters who confirmed their Georgia residency were those who obtained a driver’s license in another state (21%) or hadn’t voted in about 10 years (21%).