Every month, Project Civica analyzes New York’s statewide voter registration list to better understand how voter registration records change over time and whether the state’s voter list maintenance processes are operating as intended.
Our goal is straightforward: to educate the public about how New York’s voter registration system works, explain the laws that govern voter list maintenance, and encourage transparency and accountability. Accurate voter rolls protect both election integrity and every eligible citizen’s right to vote. Those goals go hand in hand.
This month, we’re taking a closer look at how New York removes deceased voters from the voter rolls—what the law requires, how the process works, and where important questions remain.
About This Analysis
Project Civica independently analyzes New York’s statewide voter registration list using point-in-time snapshots obtained through New York’s Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) from the NY State Board of Elections. Because the statewide voter registration database is continuously updated, these snapshots preserve the voter rolls as they existed on a particular date, allowing meaningful month-to-month comparisons.
We compare those voter roll snapshots against other government records and publicly available datasets, including official voter registration lists from other states, National Change of Address (NCOA) data, government death records, and other publicly available sources. These comparisons identify records that warrant review. They do not, by themselves, establish legal violations, administrative errors, or ineligible voting.
June 2026 Statewide Voter Roll Snapshot*
Each category raises different legal and administrative questions. Future monthly reports will examine these issues individually. This month’s focus is deceased voter records.
Monthly Focus: How New York Removes Deceased Voters
Contrary to what many people believe, a voter registration is not automatically canceled when someone dies. New York law establishes an administrative process that relies on multiple government agencies transmitting death information before a registration can be removed.
General process:
• Death occurs and local officials are notified
• Local registrar records the death and notifies the New York State Department of Health
• New York State Department of Health then notifies the New York State Board of Elections
• New York State Board of Elections notifies the County Board of Elections
• County Board of Elections must remove the deceased registered voter within 25 days.
• Registration removed from the statewide voter registration list
What Does New York Law Require?
Election Law § 5-614 requires the State Board of Elections to receive lists of deceased individuals from the Department of Health and provide that information to county boards of elections. Once a county board receives notice identifying a deceased registered voter, it must remove that registration within 25 days.
Current law does not establish comparable statutory deadlines for the earlier stages of the notification process, including transmission from the public health system to the Department of Health, from the Department of Health to the State Board of Elections, or from the State Board to county boards.
What Did Project Civica Find?
Project Civica’s comparison of the June 2026 statewide voter roll snapshot with government death records identified approximately 16,470 active voter registrations associated with individuals believed to be deceased. These are records that warrant review. They should not automatically be interpreted as evidence that every registration should already have been removed or that election officials failed to comply with the law.
Why Does It Matter?
Most deceased voter registrations are eventually removed. The concern is not that every deceased registration results in fraud. The concern is that every registration remaining active after a voter has died represents an opportunity that should not exist.
An active registration belonging to a deceased individual increases the possibility that someone who knows the person has died could attempt to misuse that registration by requesting a ballot or otherwise attempting to vote unlawfully. Maintaining accurate voter rolls reduces unnecessary opportunities for abuse while improving election administration, reducing outdated records, and strengthening public confidence.
How Can Families Help?
If a loved one has passed away and you believe they remain registered to vote, contact your county Board of Elections and ask what documentation is needed to update the registration. Many boards request or accept a certified copy of the death certificate or other official documentation, although procedures may vary by county.
Helping ensure voter registrations are updated promptly benefits both election administration and public confidence.
One Question That Deserves More Attention
As we were reviewing New York’s process for removing deceased voters, one question stood out.
What happens if a New York voter moves permanently to another state, remains registered in New York, and later dies outside New York?
New York Election Law § 5-614 focuses on the transmission of death records through the New York State Department of Health before the information reaches the State Board of Elections and county boards of elections.
That naturally raises an important question:
How does New York learn about the death of a voter who dies in another state after leaving New York?
New York has administrative list-maintenance processes for voters who move, and there are interstate information-sharing mechanisms that may come into play. How those systems work—and how effective they are—is a subject worth understanding.
Next week, we’ll take a closer look at how New York identifies voters who have moved out of state, what federal and state law require, and what our analysis of the July voter rolls shows.
*Data obtained by FOIL from the NYS Board of Elections on June 2, 2026
Enlightening. Keep up the good work.