Surry County wasn’t the only Virginia locality to see voters struck from its registration rolls in January.

According to Isle of Wight County Registrar Lisa Betterton, roughly 740 names were removed in that county in January as part of the list maintenance process mandated by the National Voter Registration Act.

The affected voters are those deemed “inactive” for two consecutive federal general elections. State law mandates if information provided by the Postal Service or “other reliable sources” indicates a voter has moved to a different address not in the same county or city, the Virginia Department of Elections is to mail to the last known address of the voter a notice and a postage prepaid and pre-addressed return card for the voter to provide his or her current address. If that voter fails to respond within 30 days, he or she is placed on inactive status.

If the inactive voter does not cast a ballot in that locality for two consecutive federal general elections, removal is automatic and handled by the state rather than local registrars.

Isle of Wight County had 31,539 active and 600 inactive voters as of Feb. 1, according to Virginia Department of Elections records, for a total of 32,139, or 78%, of the 40,942 residents the Census Bureau estimated to be living in Isle of Wight County as of mid-2024.

That’s a 2% drop from the 32,822 total registered voters on Isle of Wight’s rolls as of Jan. 1, which included 1,350 deemed inactive.