Understanding Voter File Maintenance

The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 provides guidelines to Secretaries of State for identifying and removing voters who no longer reside at their address on the voter rolls, and for removing individuals who have died. In addition, state laws often require individuals who have recieved a felony conviction and who have not completed their sentence or parole to be removed from the rolls as well.

The NVRA leaves leeway to the states in the specific procedures for removing individuals, so determining the specific regulation or statute that removed a specific individual can be tremendously difficult.

Election officils use a variety of tools to determine when voters move. They may check the U.S. Postal Service National Change of Address (NCOA) database, or may receive information about voters who moved out of state from the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC). Voters who move, based on the NCOA database check, are typically mailed a forwardable address confirmation notice. Failure to return the notice results in placing the voter's name on the Inactive Status list. Failure of that voter to vote in two subsequent general elections results in the removal of that voter from the rolls.

Routine purges are common in the months after an even year federal General Election.