"Is this a setup for voter fraud...?" I don't believe so -- it's certainly the case in the city in which I live, which is so solidly Democratic that even were there an inclination to do so by TPTB there is no chance of a Republican winning here even with massive voter fraud (and if there were fraud I think it would be far more likely to be used to benefit Democrats). It seems to me that it was once local or state law that anyone who hadn't voted in a certain number of years was required to re-register. My guess is that sloth and/ or fear of lawsuits by citizens improperly denied the right to vote may now dominate. On the other hand, we do have a voter ID law here in Michigan, although one that is watered down by a provision that simply signing an affidavit allows the voter to cast a "provisional" ballot, which ballots as far as I know have never been challenged.