An NYU Law School think tank, the Brennan Center for Justice, has just released a study condemning the problems with voter purges.

The study’s author, Myrna Pérez, condemns the unaccountable, unreliable hodgepodge of systems that states use when purging voters from the voting rolls. While Pérez believes it is reasonable to remove voters who have moved to another state, died, or become ineligible, she argues that the current system is both mismanaged and deliberately gamed for partisan advantage.

Many states’ election officials purge voters in secret with no accountability, rely on error-riddled lists, and make choices they know will lead to the disenfranchisement of eligible voters. These purges are often conducted with an eye toward willful manipulation of the outcome (Katherine Harris/Florida/2000, anybody?).

Voter fraud is not a real problem, but the oft-repeated threat of fraud is really a pretext for disenfranchising poor, minority, and other left-leaning voters. Props to Pérez; the report even has well-thought action steps for states.

(Link from BradBlog via Reddit.)