Voter Roll Accuracy
A. In order to maintain the accuracy of voter rolls, a statewide voter registration list database shall be designed to communicate with other state record databases in order to allow frequent exchanges and comparisons of information. The changing of information at one agency shall result in changing the same information at all other agencies that hold such information for the voter.
B. There shall be monthly comparisons of the statewide voter registration list with the databases maintained by
1. The Department of Motor Vehicles,
2. The State Department of Corrections,
3. The State Vital Records Division, and
4. The State Welfare and Public Assistance Agencies
in order to find information relevant to registration such as address changes, deaths, felony convictions, and citizenship status.
C. The residence address on all new voter registration forms shall be compared with county tax records to ensure that the address is confirmed as a residence and not a commercial or industrial address, an undeveloped lot, or the address of property owned by a local government, a state government, or the federal government that is not a residence.
D. When a new registration is received, the entire voter registration list shall be checked against the information available from county tax records to verify how many individuals are registered at that residence address in order to identify any anomalies. Registrations of individuals registered at the same address but with only slight differences in their names shall be verified to ensure that they do not represent multiple registrations by the same individual.
E. List maintenance programs shall be required and funded for ongoing, continuous, and comprehensive accuracy updates each year. Every year, reports of activity detailing the extent and timing of maintenance programs shall be provided to the state legislature’s oversight committees.
F. At least quarterly, [state] shall use the U.S. Postal Service’s National Change of Address (NCOA) system to identify voters who have moved to ensure that they are not registered in more than one state. State officials shall supplement data from state vital statistics agencies on deceased registrants with information from the Social Security Death Index, the Social Security Administration’s Master Death File, or independent audits of the voter registration file by commercial groups that identify deceased individuals as part of their businesses. The registration of any voter must be verified if any notice sent to such voter is returned by the U.S. Postal Service as undeliverable or if election officials receive other information showing that the voter has moved, died, or is otherwise ineligible to vote.
G. [State] shall cooperate with other states to compare voter lists to identify individuals who are registered to vote in more than one state. Election officials must determine the current residence of each such individual in order to verify his or her eligibility to remain registered in [state].
H. State election officials shall be authorized to contract with commercial data companies including, but not limited to, credit agencies to verify and audit information in their voter registration lists including, but not limited to, citizenship status and residence.
I. State legislatures shall require localities to provide notice of registration of new registrants to the previous locality to allow that locality to cancel the prior registration. The voter registration form shall require registrants to identify their previous address of registration and authorize the locality to send notice of registration to the prior registration jurisdiction.
J. Voter registration lists shall be readily accessible and transparent (without divulging confidential information such as a voter’s Social Security or driver’s license number) and be made available without charge to candidates, political parties, nonprofit organizations, and the public.
K. A notice from [state’s] DMV that an individual has received a driver’s license from another state shall be sufficient written notice that the registered voter has changed his or her residence to the other state and to cancel the individual’s voter registration.
L. The voter registration lists provided through electronic poll books to individual polling locations shall include photographs of the registered voter from the voter’s driver’s license, voter ID card, or any other photograph of the voter that is available in any state record.
M. For online voter registration, such registration shall be allowed only for individuals for whom there is already an existing state record such as a driver’s license that contains all of the information required to register, including a signature.
N. [State] and local officials shall condition requests from all federal courts for their voter registration or DMV list to use for federal juries on an agreement by the federal courts (1) to notify state and local officials if an individual called for jury duty from the list is excused from jury duty because the individual has moved, is a convicted felon, is deceased, or is not a U.S. citizen and (2) to notify state and local officials of the names and other identifying information, including residence address, of all individuals convicted of a felony in the federal court. Upon the receipt of such information, election officials must investigate to determine the eligibility of that individual to remain registered.
O. All state court clerks shall forward to the appropriate election official in their county information on any individual called for jury duty who is excused from jury duty because the individual has moved, is a convicted felon, is deceased, or is not a U.S. citizen. Upon the receipt of such information, election officials must investigate to determine the eligibility of that individual to remain registered.
Learn More: Election Integrity Scorecard
