DEARBORN — As of March 22, the Michigan Secretary of State’s Office reported that 97,000 voters across the state — and about 500 of the nearly 70,000 registered voters in Dearborn and 269 of about 44,000 registered voters in Dearborn Heights, which is less than 1 percent of registered voters in both cities — will be removed from the voter registration rolls as part of a biannual cancellation for regular voter list maintenance.

According to the Secretary of State, these individuals either surrendered a Michigan driver’s license to another state or election officials received returned undeliverable mail for them or other information that gave reason to believe the voter had changed their address. Other reasons for someone to be removed from the voter registration list are that they have verifiably died or have been an inactive voter for a long period of time.

The cancellations are part of an initiative to maintain a regular and current voter list under the provisions of the National Voter Registration Act and is only applicable for the last two federal election cycles in 2020 and 2022.

Before the 2020 election, these individuals were sent notices that their registration would be subject to cancellation if they did not respond or engage in any voter activity in the subsequent two federal election cycles – 2020 and 2022. The two-federal-cycle waiting period is required under state and federal law.

“We are here to help our residents in any way we can to ensure they are registered and can exercise their right to vote in the next presidential election in 2024,” Dearborn City Clerk George Darany said. “If a resident wants to check their voting status, or re-register, they can do that by coming to the Dearborn City Clerk’s Office, visiting a Michigan Secretary of State Office or by going online at the Michigan Voter Information Center.”

Voters can re-register at any time. If you have questions or would like to register to vote online, visit the Michigan Voter Information Center at mvic.sos.state.mi.us or call the Dearborn City Clerk’s Office at 313-943-2010.