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Escambia County voters may be purged from the list of registered voters in the coming months if they have failed to vote in recent election. The purging will be done by the Secretary of State’s office in January.

The Escambia County Commission voted Monday to enter into an agreement with the Secretary of State’s office to conduct the maintenance required during the month of January following a presidential election.

Tony Sanks, county administrator, said the process of purging currently in place has been an ongoing process since 1997.

“The Code of Alabama requires each county board of registrars to conduct voter file maintenance in January following the presidential election,” Sanks said. “This process began in 1997 and has occurred every four years since. The agreement approved by the Commission provides for the mailing of a nonforwardable postcard to every registered voter in the county.”

Sanks said that voters who receive the cards must respond in order to remain on the voter list.

“If a notice is returned with information that the voter may have relocated, then a forwardable postcard is sent to the voter to confirm their current address,” Sanks said. “If a voter does not respond to the forwardable notice within 90 days, then that voter is marked inactive.”

Sanks said that if a voter has not voted in two consecutive presidential elections, they would be purged from the voters list by the Secretary of State’s office.

A list of inactive voters will then be published publicly to advise voters on how to contact the Board of Registrars to update their voter file, Sanks said.

For those interested in checking on their voter status, the Escambia County Board of Registrars can be reached at 867-0243 to update their voter file