NVRA List Maintenance Guidance

List Maintenance

Section 8(a)(4) of the NVRA sets forth steps that States must follow concerning general voter registration list maintenance programs that make a reasonable effort to remove from the voter rolls people who are ineligible by reason of death or change in residence to a location outside the jurisdiction.  A State’s voter registration list maintenance program must comply with procedures in the NVRA.

To conduct a general program that makes a reasonable effort to remove voters who are ineligible due to a change in residence, States can follow the “safe harbor” procedure in Section 8(c)(1) of the NVRA.  That procedure allows use of change-of-address information supplied by the United States Postal Service through its National Change of Address program (NCOA) to identify registrants who may have changed residences.  Once a State has identified such individuals, it may take one of two actions:

1. If the NCOA information indicates that the person has moved to a different residence in the same registrar’s jurisdiction, the registrar changes the registration records to show the new address and sends the registrant a notice of the change by forwardable mail and a postage prepaid, pre-addressed return form the registrant can use to verify or correct the address information; or
2. If the NCOA information indicates that the registrant has moved to a residence outside the registrar’s jurisdiction, the registrar may remove the registrant from the voter rolls after satisfying all requirements of the Section 8(d) notice process described below.

States do not have to use the NCOA process.  They have discretion under the NVRA in designing their general program, subject to the limitations described below.

Restrictions on List Maintenance

Removal at the Request of the Registrant

A “removal at the request of the registrant” under the NVRA requires first-hand action by a registrant:  (1) asking to remove their name from the voting registration list; (2) completing and returning a notice card indicating an address change outside the jurisdiction; or (3) submitting a new application registering to vote a second time in a new jurisdiction and providing information regarding the registrant’s prior voter registration address on the new application, which the State can treat as a request to cancel or transfer their prior registration.  

Information submitted by a third party does not constitute a “removal at the request of the registrant.”  When a registrant provides notice of a new address within the same jurisdiction, or registers to vote a second time at a new address within the same jurisdiction, the State should update the original registration, rather than cancel it.

Discrimination, Intimidation, Threats, and Coercion

Under Section 8(b) of the NVRA, a State’s list maintenance program must be uniform, nondiscriminatory, and consistent with the VRA.  Section 2 of the VRA, 52 U.S.C. § 10301, prohibits voting practices or procedures that discriminate on the basis of race, color, or membership in a language minority group.  Section 11(b) of the VRA, 52 U.S.C. § 10307(b), also prohibits any conduct that attempts to, or actually would, intimidate, threaten, or coerce a reasonable voter. 

Examples of list maintenance activities that may violate the NVRA include comparing voter files to outdated or inaccurate records or databases, taking action that erroneously affects a particular class of voters (such as newly naturalized citizens), or matching records based solely on first name, last name, and date of birth.  The prohibitions of the NVRA extend to any list maintenance activity based on third-party submissions.

The 90-Day Quiet Period Before Federal Elections

The NVRA limits when States can conduct a general list maintenance program.  Under Section 8(c)(2), States must complete any program that systematically removes the names of ineligible voters from the official list of eligible voters no later than 90 days before a primary election or general election for federal office.  In other words, once an election for federal office is less than 90 days away, processing and removals based on systematic list maintenance must cease.  And, if a State’s federal primary election occurs less than 90 days before a federal general election, the State must complete any systematic-removal program based on change of address for the federal election cycle no later than 90 days prior to the federal primary election: no further systemic activity may take place between the primary and general elections.

This 90-day deadline applies to State list maintenance verification activities such as general mailings and door-to-door canvasses.  This deadline also applies to list maintenance programs based on third-party challenges derived from any large, computerized data-matching process.  However, the 90-day deadline does not preclude removal of a registrant’s name at the request of that registrant, removal due to the death of the registrant, or removal due to a criminal conviction or mental incapacity of the registrant as provided by State law, nor does the deadline preclude the correction of a registrant’s information.  52 U.S.C. § 20507(c)(2)(B).

Special Rules for Changes of Address

1. The registrant should complete and return the card no later than the voter registration deadline for the next election;
2. If the card is not returned, the registrant may need to affirm or confirm their address before being permitted to vote in a federal election from the date of the notice to the day after the second general election for Federal office that occurs after the date of the notice; and
3. If the registrant does not vote in an election during that period, the registrant’s name will be removed from the list of eligible voters.

Id. § 20507(d)(2)(A).  If the registrant has changed residence to a place outside the registrar’s jurisdiction in which the registrant is registered, the notice must provide information concerning how the registrant can continue to be eligible to vote.  Id. § 20507(d)(2)(B). 

The jurisdiction may remove the registrant from the voter rolls after sending the notice only in one of two circumstances.  First, if the registrant confirms in writing, such as by completing and returning the notice card, that the registrant has changed residence to a place outside the jurisdiction, then the registrant can be removed from the list immediately.  Second, if the registrant fails to respond to the notice and fails to vote or to appear to vote in an election from the date the notice is sent to the day after the second federal general election after the notice is sent, then the registrant can be removed from the list after that second federal general election.

Section 8(f) of the NVRA establishes that if a voter changes address to another address within the registrar’s same jurisdiction, the registrar must update the voter’s registration to reflect the new address, and the voter may not be removed based on this change, except as otherwise provided in Section 8(d).  A “registrar’s jurisdiction” in this context means (1) an incorporated city, town, borough, or other form of municipality; or (2) a geographic area larger than a municipality or a geographic area of consolidated municipalities, if voter registration is maintained by such larger units of government.

For more information, please consult the Department’s NVRA Questions and Answers at https://www.justice.gov/crt/national-voter-registration-act-1993-nvra.