Electoral rolls get major cleanup
The Interior Ministry has completed a historic cleanup of the country’s electoral rolls, removing 441,042 names of voters who were either deceased or living abroad without an active tax record or valid Greek passport.
The process, initiated in November 2023, aimed to improve electoral accuracy by identifying individuals aged 80 and older who met specific criteria.
These are: born before January 1, 1944, not filing tax returns, not receiving a pension, and lacking a valid Greek passport.
Many of those removed had passed away, particularly abroad, but their names remained on the rolls due to a lack of official updates.
Regions with the high historical emigration saw the most removals.
Florina in the north of the country led with 23.9% of its voter list deleted (20,625 names), followed by Lakonia in the south (16.7%), the island of Lesvos (16.1%), Kastoria in the north (13.5%), and the island of Kefalonia (13%).
The cleanup particularly affected areas where migration surged during the 1960s.
One of the biggest impacts of the cleanup is a correction in reported abstention rates. In the 2023 elections, voter abstention was reported at 46.26%, but with the removal of inactive voters, the true abstention rate now stands at 43.7%.
Officials say this correction offers a more accurate representation of voter participation and engagement.
Beyond turnout statistics, the updated electoral rolls will benefit political analysts and pollsters, who will now work with more precise voter data.
According to government sources, the effort was made possible by advancements in digital public registries and improved interconnectivity between government databases.
The initiative was led by the Ministry of Interior’s Digital Governance and Election Directorate under Theodoros Livanios.
Officials highlight the importance of accurate electoral rolls in ensuring transparency in democratic processes.
By eliminating outdated and incorrect voter registrations, authorities can now better assess electoral participation and plan for future elections with more reliable data.
While this is the first large-scale voter roll cleanup in Greece’s history, officials emphasize the need for continued updates to prevent errors from accumulating again.
Kathimerini
