California National
Voter Registration
Act Manual
JUNE 2024
California Secretary of State
Chapter 1 – page 1
Chapter 1
Executive Summary
The NVRA
The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA) was designed to increase the
number of registered voters in the United States by requiring many government offices
to offer people the opportunity to register to vote. The NVRA requires each state to
offer voter registration services at motor vehicle agency offices and, in addition, to
designate as voter registration agencies:
• All offices that provide public assistance;
• All offices that provide state-funded programs primarily engaged in providing
services to persons with disabilities; and
• Other state and local agencies.
Beyond expanding opportunities to register to vote, the NVRA also protects the integrity
of elections by requiring states to maintain accurate and current voter registration rolls.
The NVRA specifically prevents states from removing voters from the rolls unless
certain conditions are met and requires states to offer “fail safe” voting to registered
voters who have moved within their county. California’s provisional voting laws meet
NVRA requirements.
The United States Election Assistance Commission (EAC) reports to Congress every
two years on the impact of the NVRA. The EAC gathers data on the NVRA from states
by including questions about NVRA voter registrations and provisional voting in its
biennial Election Day Survey of all 50 states. In California, the Secretary of State
responds to the EAC survey by gathering and compiling data from each of the 58
county elections offices.
Voter Registration at the Department of Motor Vehicles
Chapter Two of this manual covers NVRA voter registration services at the Department
of Motor Vehicles (DMV). Under the NVRA, state motor vehicle departments must offer
voter registration with each new, renewal, or change of address application for a state
driver license or identification card (DL/ID). Under the NVRA, DMV change of address
requests serve as notice of a change of address for voter registration purposes, unless
the voter chooses otherwise.
In California, under the California Motor Voter program, every eligible applicant who
visits a DMV office to apply for or renew a DL/ID or to change an address is
automatically registered to vote, unless they choose to opt out of automatic registration.
Additionally, every eligible applicant who receives a DL/ID renewal form online is
automatically registered to vote, unless they choose to opt out of automatic registration.
Chapter 1 – page 2
During the automatic registration process, the applicant can register for the first time or
re-register after a change in name, address, or party preference. This voter registration
information is sent electronically to the California statewide voter registration database,
which then shares the information with county elections officials who update voter
registration records. Additionally, when a voter updates their address with a DMV office
in California, this information is also provided to the statewide voter registration
database.
Moreover, every person who receives a DL/ID renewal form by mail also receives a
California Voter Registration Application (VRC). The VRC can be used to register to
vote or to re-register after a change in name, address, or party preference. Lastly, the
DMV continues to accept completed VRCs and forwards them to the Secretary of State
or the county where the voter lives.
Voter Registration at Public Assistance Agencies, Disability Service Agencies,
and Other Voter Registration Agencies in California
Chapter Three of this manual covers voter registration services at public assistance
agencies, disability service agencies, and other agencies designated under the NVRA.
The NVRA requires each state to designate as “voter registration agencies” all agencies
and offices that provide public assistance or are funded by the state primarily to serve
people with disabilities.
Designated agencies must provide both an NVRA Voter Preference Form, which asks
“Would you like to register to vote?” and a VRC to each person who applies for new
services or benefits, requests renewal or recertification, or identifies a change of
address. The NVRA requires designated agencies to ask the applicant to complete the
Voter Preference Form and to keep all completed Voter Preference Forms on file for
two years. If an applicant asks for assistance in completing a VRC, the NVRA requires
designated agencies to assist the applicant with filling out the VRC in the same manner
it assists applicants with filling out the agency’s own forms. Finally, designated
agencies must accept and forward completed VRCs to elections officials.
California law goes a step further than the NVRA and requires that if an NVRA agency
allows applicants to apply online for services, they must also allow an applicant to
electronically submit a Voter Preference Form and voter registration application. All
NVRA agencies are provided their own unique URL for voter registration purposes.
Registered Voter List Maintenance Requirements
Chapter Four of this manual covers the NVRA requirements on how states maintain
voter registration rolls. California state election laws meet the NVRA list maintenance
requirements. Both the NVRA and state law provide for the:
• confirmation of voter registration sent to each newly registered voter or voter who
updates their voter registration;
Chapter 1 – page 3
• removal of ineligible and deceased voters from the rolls;
• updating of a voter’s current registration if it is within California;
• cancellation of a voter’s registration if the:
o voter confirms a change of residence outside California; or
o county elections official receives notice from the U.S. postal service that the
voter appears to have moved, and the voter both fails to respond to an
address verification postcard and fails to vote in two subsequent federal
general elections. In California, the county elections officials receive notices
such as this via messages from the statewide voter registration database.
In some cases, California law provides more opportunities to voters while remaining
consistent with the NVRA. For example, the NVRA requires states to accept voter
registrations up to 30 days prior to the election. Because California has a 15-day voter
registration deadline, elections officials accept voter registrations until 15 days prior to
each election.
Additionally, California offers conditional voter registration (CVR) beginning on the close
of the registration up through and including Election Day. Voter registrations received
after the 15-day deadline that are not CVRs, are accepted for the purpose of registering
voters for future elections, with the exception of registrations from new residents of
California and new United States citizens. Under California law, new California
residents can register to vote up to seven days prior to an election. New United States
citizens are eligible to register and vote up to the time polls close on Election Day.
Provisional Voting
Chapter Five of this manual covers provisional voting, and encompasses the “fail safe”
voting requirements under the NVRA. California provisional voting laws meet the NVRA
fail safe voting requirements and the federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA) provisional
voting requirements. California law gives any voter whose registration cannot be
confirmed at the polling place the right to vote using a provisional ballot. California law
also allows for conditional voter registration (CVR) and CVR provisional voting
beginning on the close of registration up through and including Election Day at county
elections offices and other designated locations. California voters can also check My
Voter Status found on the Secretary of State’s website at https://voterstatus.sos.ca.gov/
to see if their provisional ballot has been accepted.
Recordkeeping and Reporting
Chapter Six of this manual covers state and county recordkeeping and reporting
requirements under the NVRA and HAVA. The EAC reports to Congress biennially on
the impact of the NVRA. To gather data for the report, the EAC surveys all 50 states
every other year following the federal general election. The California Secretary of
State’s office responds to the EAC survey by gathering and compiling data from each of
the 58 county elections offices. Counties report aggregate data on registration and
voting information, including but not limited to:
Chapter 1 – page 4
• total number of registered voters (active and inactive);
• total number of voters in the most recent federal election;
• registrations by type (new, valid, rejected, duplicate, re-registrations);
• registrations by source (mail, DMV, public assistance agencies, disability service
agencies, armed forces recruitment offices, other NVRA designated agencies,
and other sources);
• registration removals;
• military and overseas voters and vote-by-mail ballots transmitted and cast;
• provisional ballots cast; and
• registration confirmation notices mailed, and responses received, under the
NVRA list maintenance requirements.
National Mail Voter Registration Form
The last chapter of this manual, Chapter Seven, covers the NVRA requirements to
establish the National Mail Voter Registration Form (National Form) and allow people to
register to vote by mail. The NVRA permits states to develop their own voter
registration forms but requires states to accept and use the National Form. California, a
leader in mail registration and vote-by-mail voting, had already established mail
registration and vote-by-mail laws before the NVRA. (See Elec. Code, § 3000 et seq.)
Enforcement of the NVRA
The NVRA authorizes the United States Department of Justice to bring a civil action in
federal district court against states that do not comply with the NVRA. The NVRA also
allows a person who believes they suffered harm due to a state or local failure to
properly implement the NVRA to sue a state or local agency. In most circumstances,
private parties must first notify the chief elections official of the state and provide an
opportunity for the state to correct the violation before filing a legal action. An individual
or group who prevails in court may be awarded reasonable court costs and attorney’s
fees. Finally, the NVRA establishes criminal penalties for certain intentional acts
regarding registration, voting, or violation or denial of any other right under the NVRA.
Implementation of the NVRA in California
California embraces the NVRA’s requirements and goals of helping more eligible
citizens register to vote and cast ballots on Election Day by offering automatic voter
registration through the DMV; offering voter registration at state and local agencies,
offering vote-by-mail and provisional voting; offering conditional voter registration;
offering online voter registration at RegisterToVote.ca.gov; allowing counties to conduct
elections pursuant to the Voter’s Choice Act and utilize vote centers; and by maintaining
accurate voter rolls.
Chapter 1 – page 5
California laws permitting voter registration by mail, vote-by-mail voting, and provisional
voting, as well as laws setting voter list maintenance standards meet or exceed NVRA
requirements. And although the NVRA did not require the adoption of state law to give
it effect, as more fully discussed in Chapter 3 of this manual, in January 2013, Senate
Bill 35 codified portions of the NVRA into state law and placed new requirements on
NVRA agencies, county elections officials, and the Secretary of State. (See Elec. Code,
§ 2400 et seq.)
This manual is designed to help counties, as well as state and local agencies
designated as voter registration agencies under the NVRA, understand and carry out
their NVRA duties. The Secretary of State also offers specific guidance and training for
designated NVRA agencies on the Secretary of State website at
https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/voter-registration/nvra/training/.
Chapter 2 – page i
Chapter 2
Voter Registration at Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV)
Table of Contents
I. NVRA and California Elections Code Requirements
for DMV Voter Registration …………………………………………………………….1
II. DMV Forms and Procedures …………………………………..…………………...… 2
A. DL/ID Transactions at a Field Office …………………………………………. 2
1. Electronic DL/ID Application, Renewal, or Replacement –
eDL44 and eDL44C ……………………………………………………. 2
2. Paper DL/ID Application, Renewal, or Replacement –
DL44/DL44C ................................................................................... 3
3. Change of Address Form – DMV 14 …………………………………. 3
4. DMV Voter Registration Card .......................................................... 4
C.
B. DL/ID Transactions by Mail …………………………………………………… 5
1. DL/ID Renewal – DL6/DL410 FO .................................................... 5
2. Change of Address – DMV 14 ……………………………………..… 5
DL/ID Transactions Over the Internet ………………………..………………. 6
1. Driver License Internet Renewal (DLIR) ………………..…………… 6
2. Internet Change of Address (ICA) – DMV 14 ………………..……... 6
III. Receipt and Processing of Electronic Voter Registration Information
by Elections Officials ………………………………………………………………...… 7
A. Transmission of Electronic Voter Registration Information
to the Secretary of State……………………………………….………………. 7
B. Processing of Voter Registration Information by the
Secretary of State and County Elections Officials……………..………….… 8
Chapter 2 – page ii
IV.
Receipt of VRCs and Processing by County Elections Officials…………………... 9
A. Sources ……………………………………………………………………….… 9
1. Local DMV Field Offices…………………………………………..…… 9
2. Secretary of State ……………………………………….……………... 9
3. Other Counties …………………………………………………………. 9
B. Method and Frequency of Transmittal ……………………………………….. 9
1. Local DMV Field Offices………………………………….………….… 9
2. Secretary of State ………………………..…………………………….. 9
3. Other Counties …………………………………………………………. 9
C. Processing VRCs ............................................................................................ 9
V. Training ............................................................................................................... 10
VI. Resources and Monitoring .................................................................................. 10
VII. Additional Information ......................................................................................... 10
A. Late Voter Registrations and Transmission Delays ………………..……... 10
B. Minority Language Availability ………………………………………………. 11
C. DMV Mobile Units in Rural Counties …………………….……………..…… 11
Chapter 2 – page 1
I. NVRA and California Elections Code Requirements for DMV Voter Registration
The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA) requires the Department of Motor
Vehicles (DMV) to provide voter registration services to people who apply for or renew
a driver license or identification card (DL/ID). (52 U.S.C. § 20504(a).) In addition,
unless the DMV customer indicates that the voter registration address should not be
updated, any change of address form submitted for a DL/ID will also serve as a notice
of change of address for voter registration purposes. (52 U.S.C. § 20504(d).)
Pursuant to the NVRA, certain information provided in the voter registration application
received by the DMV remains confidential. Specifically, an applicant’s decision
whether to register to vote, and the office at which the voter registration took place,
must be kept confidential and may not be used for any purpose other than voter
registration. (52 U.S.C. § 20504(c)(2)(D)(iii).)
The NVRA provides that “a completed voter registration portion of an application for a
State motor vehicle driver’s license accepted at a State motor vehicle authority shall
be transmitted to the appropriate State election official not later than 10 days after the
date of acceptance,” and that “[i]f a registration application is accepted within 5 days
before the last day for registration to vote in an election, the application shall be
transmitted to the appropriate State election official not later than 5 days after the date
of acceptance.” (52 U.S.C. § 20504(e)(1), (2).)
The California New Motor Voter Program was enacted in 2016 and took effect in 2018.
(Elec. Code, §§ 2260-2270.) Under this program, eligible DMV customers completing
an original or renewal DL/ID application, or a change of DL/ID address transaction,
will automatically have their voter registration information transmitted to the Secretary
of State. Eligible DMV customers will be registered to vote unless they opt out of voter
registration during their DMV transaction.
1
Californians are eligible to vote if they are 18 or older and:
• A United States citizen and a resident of California,
• Not currently serving a state or federal prison term for the conviction of a felony,
and
• Not currently found mentally incompetent to vote by a court.
Voter pre-registration is available through the DMV for Californians who are 16 or 17
years old and meet the other eligibility requirements. They will automatically be
registered to vote when they turn 18.
1
In accordance with California State Assembly Bill 60 (“AB 60”), Stats. 2013, Ch. 524, DMV is authorized
to issue a DL/ID without receiving satisfactory proof that the applicant’s presence in the United States is
authorized under federal law. Customers applying for or renewing a DL/ID under AB 60 will not be
presented with the option to register to vote, if using an electronic form or a paper form that has been pre-
populated with their information. Regardless of the type of form these customers use, or even if they are
submitting change of address information, these customers will not have their information transmitted to
the Secretary of State.
Chapter 2 – page 2
The following registration services are provided by DMV, in connection with DL/ID
applications or changes of address:
• An electronic Driver License and ID Card Application (eDL44 and eDL44C)
containing the voter registration application that can be completed online prior to
visiting a field office, or during a field office visit at a touch screen terminal or ADA
(Americans With Disabilities Act) station.
• Paper and electronic change of address forms for DL/ID purposes (DMV 14) that
serve as a notice of change of address for voter registration purposes, unless the
customer indicates otherwise on the change of address form. These forms also
contain a voter registration application.
• For eligible licensees or card holders, paper DL/ID Renewal by Mail applications
(DL 410 and DL 6) contain a voter registration application.
• Paper Voter Registration Cards (VRCs) in field offices for customers who want to
register to vote but who are not applying for, renewing, or changing an address for
a DL/ID. VRCs are also provided to customers who are unable to complete their
DL/ID transaction in the field office due to a system outage, and who request a
VRC.
• Secure and timely electronic transmission to the Secretary of State of registration
information collected from DL/ID applications and change of address forms.
• Timely delivery of completed paper VRCs to the county elections officials.
• Voter registration information and a link to the Secretary of State’s website on the
DMV’s website.
• Referral to the Secretary of State or county elections officials when customers
inquire regarding their voter registration status. DMV cannot provide this
information to the customer.
II. DMV Forms and Procedures
A. DL/ID Transactions at a Field Office
1. Electronic DL/ID Application, Renewal, or Replacement – eDL44 and
eDL44C
The electronic application form for a DL/ID is the eDL44. For commercial
license applications, the form is called the eDL44C. A voter registration
application is part of these electronic forms. These forms can be completed by
customers in the field office on special touch screens when applying in person.
Alternatively, these forms can be completed at home, prior to a visit, by
accessing them online.
On the eDL44 and eDL44C forms, if the customer does not answer “Yes” to the
citizenship and other voter eligibility questions, the customer is not presented
Chapter 2 – page 3
with the voter registration portion of the electronic application and no customer
data is transmitted to the Secretary of State.
For customers who indicate they are eligible to vote, the eDL44 and eDL44C
asks whether the customer would like to register to vote, update their voter
registration information, or opt out of voter registration. If the customer would
like to register or update their registration, the eDL44 and eDL44C solicits
specific voter registration information, such as political party preference and
whether the customer wants to become a permanent vote-by-mail voter. The
customer’s answers are delivered to Secretary of State in an electronic file that
also contains minimum identification information, such as a DL/ID number,
name, residence and mailing address, if available, date of birth, and digitized
signature (which is retrieved at a later time), as required by the California Motor
Voter Program. If the customer indicates that they would like to opt out of voter
registration, the customer is not presented with the remaining portion of the
voter registration application. If a customer indicates they are eligible to vote
but opts out of registration, that customer’s information is provided to the
Secretary of State for outreach purposes.
2. Paper DL/ID Application, Renewal, or Replacement – DL44/DL44C
In some instances, a paper DL/ID application is requested or required. The
voter registration portion of the application is part of the paper DL/ID
application, which is called the DL44 or DL44C (for commercial licenses). All
voter eligibility, preference, and opt-out questions on the eDL44 and eDL44C
also appear on the DL44 and DL44C. DMV technicians enter the information
from the paper application into the DMV system, and provide the customer with
the ability to verify that the entered information is correct, prior to completing
the application. If the customer does not answer “Yes” to the citizenship and
other voter eligibility questions, no customer data is transmitted to the Secretary
of State. For customers who indicate they are eligible to vote, their answers
are delivered to Secretary of State in an electronic file that also contains
minimum identification information, such as a DL/ID number, name, residence
and mailing address, if available, date of birth, and digitized signature (which is
retrieved at a later time), as required by the California Motor Voter Program. If
a customer indicates they are eligible to vote but opts out of registration, that
customer’s information is provided to the Secretary of State for outreach
purposes.
3. Change of Address Form – DMV 14
The Notice of Change of Address Form (DMV 14) is used to process a DL/ID
change of address. The form is available in a paper format that can be
submitted in person at a DMV office. (It can also be submitted by mail to DMV
headquarters in Sacramento, or electronically via the Internet.) The DMV 14
includes a section permitting the customer to indicate if they do not want their
Chapter 2 – page 4
change of address for DL/ID purposes to also change their address for voter
registration purposes. The DMV 14 also includes a voter registration
application. If the customer wants their change of address to be used for voter
registration purposes, or if the customer completes the voter registration portion
of the form and indicates they are eligible to vote, the customer’s answers are
delivered to Secretary of State in an electronic file that also contains minimum
identification information, such as a DL/ID number, name, residence and
mailing address, if available, date of birth, and digitized signature (which is
retrieved at a later time), as required by the California Motor Voter Program. If,
on the voter registration portion of the form, the customer does not answer
“Yes” to the citizenship and other voter eligibility questions, no customer data
is transmitted to the Secretary of State. If a customer indicates they are eligible
to vote but opts out of registration, that customer’s information is provided to
the Secretary of State for outreach purposes.
4. DMV Voter Registration Card
The Secretary of State prints Voter Registration Cards (VRCs) for the DMV so
that all DMV field offices can provide VRCs to applicants who want to register
to vote but are not transacting an original or renewal DL/ID application, or a
change of address for DL/ID purposes. VRCs are also provided to customers
who are unable to complete their DL/ID transaction in the field office due to a
system outage, and who request a VRC. To identify VRCs submitted by
registrants through the DMV, the DMV VRCs include a DMV icon in the upper
right-hand corner of the document. Secretary of State is therefore able to track
and report DMV registration activity as required under the NVRA. DMV field
offices within counties designated as minority language counties by the federal
Voting Rights Act provide paper VRCs in the prescribed minority language(s)
of that county. Applicants who wish to register in this way may provide the VRC
to the DMV for submission or they may mail it directly to their county elections
office, as the VRCs are postage-paid and pre-addressed accordingly.
DMV employees do not complete entries on a VRC unless an applicant
requests assistance. DMV employees check to make sure that applicants
complete and sign the VRC if it is submitted by an office visitor who is not
completing a DL/ID application or changing their DL/ID address. DMV
employees are not required to sign the VRC as the person assisting with the
registration.
If an applicant has difficulty completing the English language VRC, the DMV
employee will:
• Ask the applicant if he/she prefers a VRC in another language.
Chapter 2 – page 5
• If the VRC is not available at the DMV field office in the appropriate
language, give the applicant the appropriate toll-free number to call and
order election materials in the preferred language.
• Inform the applicant the VRC may be completed elsewhere, if preferred.
B. DL/ID Transactions by Mail
1. DL/ID Renewal – DL6/DL410 FO
Customers who are eligible to renew their DL/ID by mail receive a renewal form
in the mail, called a DL6. Except for customers with an AB 60 DL/ID
2
, the DL6
contains a voter registration application. Customers who are eligible to renew
their DL/ID by mail and have not yet received a DL6 may submit a renewal by
mail eligibility information form called a DL410 FO, which also contains a voter
registration application. Customers may provide an updated address on these
forms. Both forms include a section permitting the customer to indicate if they
do not want their change of address for DL/ID purposes to also change their
address for voter registration purposes. If the customer wants their change of
address to be used for voter registration purposes, or if the customer completes
the voter registration portion of the form and indicates they are eligible to vote,
the customer’s answers are delivered to Secretary of State in an electronic file
that also contains minimum identification information, such as a DL/ID number,
name, residence and mailing address, if available, date of birth, and digitized
signature (which is retrieved at a later time), as required by the California Motor
Voter Program. If the customer does not answer “Yes” to the citizenship and
other voter eligibility questions, no customer data is transmitted to the Secretary
of State. If a customer indicates they are eligible to vote but opts out of
registration, that customer’s information is provided to the Secretary of State
for outreach purposes.
2. Change of Address – DMV 14
The Notice of Change of Address Form (DMV 14) is used to process a DL/ID
change of address. The form may be submitted by mail to DMV headquarters
in Sacramento. (The form can also be submitted in person at a DMV field office,
or electronically via the Internet.) The DMV 14 includes a section permitting
the customer to indicate if they do not want their change of address for DL/ID
purposes to also change their address for voter registration purposes. The
DMV 14 also includes a voter registration application. If the customer wants
their change of address to be used for voter registration purposes, or if the
customer completes the voter registration portion of the form and indicates they
are eligible to vote, the customer’s answers are delivered to Secretary of State
in an electronic file that also contains minimum identification information, such
as a DL/ID number, name, residence and mailing address, if available, date of
2
The renewal by mail form that is sent to AB 60 licensees is called a DL6U.
Chapter 2 – page 6
birth, and digitized signature (which is retrieved at a later time), as required by
the California Motor Voter Program. If, on the voter registration portion of the
form, the customer does not answer “Yes” to the citizenship and other voter
eligibility questions, no customer data is transmitted to the Secretary of State.
If a customer indicates they are eligible to vote but opts out of registration, that
customer’s information is provided to the Secretary of State for outreach
purposes.
C. DL/ID Transactions Over the Internet
1. Driver License Internet Renewal (DLIR)
Eligible customers may renew their DL/ID via the Internet. A voter registration
application is contained within the online renewal application. All of the same
features of the eDL44/eDL44C are included in the online renewal internet form,
including the ability to elect to update the voter registration address, and the
ability to register, update their voter registration information, or opt out of voter
registration. If the customer indicates that they are not eligible to vote, the
customer is not presented with the remaining portion of the voter registration
application. If a customer indicates they are eligible to vote but opts out of
registration, that customer’s information is provided to the Secretary of State
for outreach purposes. The online renewal internet form includes a section
permitting the customer to indicate if they do not want their change of address
for DL/ID purposes (if any) to also change their address for voter registration
purposes. If the customer wants their change of address to be used for voter
registration purposes, or if the customer completes the voter registration portion
of the form and indicates they are eligible to vote, the customer’s answers are
delivered to Secretary of State in an electronic file that also contains minimum
identification information, such as a DL/ID number, name, residence and
mailing address, if available, date of birth, and digitized signature (which is
retrieved at a later time), as required by the California Motor Voter Program.
2. Internet Change of Address (ICA) – DMV 14
Eligible customers may submit a change of address to their DL/ID via the
Internet, using the Notice of Change of Address Form (DMV 14). (The form
can also be submitted in person at a DMV field office, or by mail to DMV
headquarters in Sacramento.) The DMV 14 includes a section permitting the
customer to indicate if they do not want their change of address for DL/ID
purposes to also change their address for voter registration purposes. The
DMV 14 also includes a voter registration application. If the customer wants
their change of address to be used for voter registration purposes, or if the
customer completes the voter registration portion of the form and indicates they
are eligible to vote, the customer’s answers are delivered to Secretary of State
in an electronic file that also contains minimum identification information, such
as a DL/ID number, name, residence and mailing address, if available, date of
Chapter 2 – page 7
birth, and digitized signature (which is retrieved at a later time), as required by
the California Motor Voter Program. If, on the voter registration portion of the
form, the customer does not answer “Yes” to the citizenship and other voter
eligibility questions, no customer data is transmitted to the Secretary of State.
If a customer indicates they are eligible to vote but opts out of registration, that
customer’s information is provided to the Secretary of State for outreach
purposes.
III. Receipt and Processing of Electronic Voter Registration Information by
Elections Officials
The NVRA requires completed voter registration applications submitted as part of a
DL/ID application to be transmitted to the appropriate elections official not later than
10 days after acceptance by the DMV. (52 U.S.C. § 20504(e)(1).) If a voter
registration application submitted as part of a DL/ID application is accepted within five
days before the last day for registration to vote in an upcoming election, the NVRA
requires that the application be transmitted within five days of acceptance. (52 U.S.C.
§ 20504(e)(2).) Further, the NVRA and state law provide that if a valid application is
submitted to the DMV on or before the 15th day before an election, the applicant
should be registered to vote in the election. (52 U.S.C. §20507(a)(1)(A); Elec. Code,
§ 2102(a)(2).)
A. Transmission of Electronic Voter Registration Information to the Secretary
of State
The Secretary of State retrieves voter registration information from the DMV
several times each week.
For DMV customers who have attested to their eligibility to register to vote, the
Secretary of State retrieves the corresponding electronic voter registration records,
updates to voter registration records, and change of address requests. The
Secretary of State then analyzes the records, excludes records of customers who
opted out of voter registration, duplicate records and records for which a more
recent registration exists, and processes the remaining records directly into the
statewide voter registration system. For DMV customers who have attested to
their eligibility to register to vote, but who have indicated that they do not want to
register to vote or update their voter registration information, the Secretary of State
sends an Opt Out Postcard, which provides information on how the customer can
register to vote. (Elec. Code, § 2263(b).)
DMV customers who submitted updates to an existing voter registration via a paper
form (DL44, DL410 FO, DL6, or DMV 14) and left a blank response for political
party, vote by mail preference, and/or ballot material language will retain their
previously indicated preferences from the existing voter registration record, for
those fields. (Elec. Code, § 2265(c).) The Secretary of State sends a Voter
Preference Postcard to all DMV customers who submitted updates to an existing
Chapter 2 – page 8
voter registration via a paper form and left a blank response for political party, vote
by mail preference, and/or ballot material language, notifying them that they are
registered and providing information on how to update their voter registration
information. (DMV electronic forms do not permit customers attempting to update
their voter registrations to leave those fields blank.)
For DMV customers who applied for or renewed a DL/ID or changed their address
for voting purposes via a paper form (DL44, DL410 FO, DL6, or DMV 14), but
based on inconsistent or missing information the Secretary of State is unable to
determine if they were eligible to vote, or if they wanted to register or update their
voter registration information, and for DMV customers who changed their address,
but indicated they did not want to share their change of address for voter
registration purposes, the Secretary of State will send these DMV customers a
Registration Opportunity Postcard, notifying them that their recent attempt to
register or update their voter registration information through their DMV transaction
was not successful, and providing information on how to register to vote or update
their current voter registration.
B. Processing of Voter Registration Information by the Secretary of State and
County Elections Officials
County elections officials access the new and updated voter registration records
in the statewide voter registration system electronically through their elections
management systems (EMSs) for processing.
County elections officials will also receive EMS messages for DMV voter
registration records indicating a potential change of address for an existing voter
registration. County elections officials either accept or reject these possible match
determinations. The voter registration record will be updated in the statewide voter
registration system accordingly.
3
DMV customers who submitted updates to an existing voter registration via a paper
form (DL44, DL410 FO, DL6, or DMV 14) and left a blank response for political
party, vote by mail, and/or ballot material language preference will retain their
previously indicated preferences from the existing voter registration record, for
those fields. (Elec. Code, § 2265(c).) DMV electronic forms do not permit
customers attempting to update their voter registrations to leave those fields blank.
For all new or updated voter registrations, including changes of address, county
elections officials provide notification to the voter by mailing a non-forwardable
Voter Notification Card (VNC). (Elec. Code, § 2155.)
3
A new or updated voter registration resulting from a DMV transaction, and a DMV change of address
that results in an updated voter registration, all constitute a notification of continued residency within
California, for purposes of determining eligibility for cancellation of a voter’s registration. (See Chapter 4,
Voter Registration Applications and Voter List Maintenance, p. 19 n. 13.)
Chapter 2 – page 9
IV. Receipt of VRCs and Processing by County Elections Officials
A. Sources
1. Local DMV Field Offices: DMV field offices forward to the county elections
official all VRCs completed and submitted in their offices. For a list of field
offices by county, please visit the DMV’s website: www.dmv.ca.gov
2. Secretary of State: Most VRCs available in DMV offices are not pre-
addressed to a specific county. Rather, they are pre-addressed to the
Secretary of State. VRCs from DMV field offices that are completed and mailed
by a DMV customer outside of a DMV field office will reach the Secretary of
State, who will forward these VRCs to the appropriate county elections official.
3. Other Counties: DMV field offices forward all VRCs submitted in the field office
to either the Secretary of State or the elections official in the county where the
DMV field office is located. The Secretary of State forwards these VRCs to the
appropriate county elections official. Because DMV applicants occasionally go
to field offices outside their county of residence, county elections officials may
receive VRCs forwarded from DMV field offices for applicants who live in
another county; the county elections official receiving such VRCs forwards
them to the appropriate county elections official.
B. Method and Frequency of Transmittal
1. Local DMV Field Offices: Local DMV field offices forward all VRCs received
to county elections offices on a daily basis. The VRCs are typically sent by
priority mail. County elections offices may also work out alternate
arrangements with their local DMV field offices for the transmittal of VRCs.
2. Secretary of State: The Secretary of State sorts and forwards to the
appropriate county elections offices all VRCs received on a daily basis.
3. Other Counties: The frequency that county elections offices forward DMV
VRCs completed by out-of-county residents to the appropriate county elections
office will vary according to each county elections office’s policy or practice.
Each county elections office may want to contact other county elections offices
to arrange for specific transmittal methods/frequencies.
C. Processing VRCs
County elections officials must track the number of registrations received from
DMV, after subtracting VRCs that are forwarded to other counties and adding
VRCs received from other counties.
Chapter 2 – page 10
V. Training
While not required by the NVRA, the Secretary of State and DMV provide training to
their employees.
4
The Secretary of State annually provides a live training to all
Secretary of State employees responsible for the receipt and processing of voter
registration information from DMV, including but not limited to training on the
procedures for regular monitoring of the timeliness of the receipt of registration data
from DMV transactions and the protocol for reporting and addressing problems with
the timeliness and quality of the voter registration data received from DMV.
DMV
provides initial training to new employees and annual refresher trainings to continuing
employees who interact with the motor voter system, including but not limited to
training on processing voter information submitted to DMV, transmission deadlines in
the NVRA, and procedures for identifying and reporting errors or delays.
VI. Resources and Monitoring
County elections officials will contact the Secretary of State’s office if they have
questions regarding voter registrations completed or attempted through the California
New Motor Voter Program. DMV customers with voter registration questions can
contact the Secretary of State’s Voter Hotline at (800) 345-VOTE (8683) (or the other
toll-free hotlines that are available in 9 languages).
The Secretary of State and DMV have appointed NVRA coordinators. DMV’s NVRA
coordinator monitors DMV’s compliance with the NVRA, including the processing and
timely transmission of voter registration information submitted to DMV. The Secretary
of State’s Section 5 NVRA coordinator monitors the Secretary of State’s compliance
with Section 5 of the NVRA, including the processing and timely transmission of voter
registration information submitted to DMV.
VII. Additional Information
A. Late Voter Registrations and Transmission Delays
Under the NVRA and state law, a voter registration is timely as long as it is
submitted to the DMV by the last day to register to vote, i.e., the 15
th
day prior to
an election. (52 U.S.C. § 20504(a)(1)(A); Elec. Code, § 2101(a)(2).) If voter
registration records resulting from DMV transactions are not transmitted from DMV
to the Secretary of State within five or ten days after acceptance as required under
the NVRA (52 U.S.C. § 20504(e)(1), (e)(2)), the Secretary of State will, when
required or appropriate, notify county elections officials, who may need to take
additional steps to count ballots cast by affected voters.
4
This training is pursuant to the Stipulation and Order Regarding Enforcement of Settlement Agreement
(“Stipulation”), League of Women Voters of California, et al. v. Annis, et al., No. 3:17-cv-02665-LB (N.D.
Cal. Feb. 5, 2019); the terms of the Stipulation expire on December 31, 2020.
Chapter 2 – page 11
While not required by the NVRA, DMV will notify the Secretary of State of any
errors or delays related to the timely transmission of voter registration records
received by DMV within three business days of the discovery of the error or delay
by DMV management.
5
The Secretary of State will notify county elections officials
of any errors or delays related to the timely transmission of voter registration
records from DMV within three business days of the discovery of the error or delay
by Secretary of State management.
If there is such a delay in forwarding voter registration records resulting from DMV
transactions to the Secretary of State, a new or updated voter registration may not
appear on the county or precinct voter rolls even though the applicant submitted a
timely voter registration application to the DMV. If this happens, the applicant will
be asked to cast a provisional ballot, which will be counted as part of the official
canvass as long as the county elections office receives the voter registration
application before the end of the canvass period. State law authorizes a county
elections official to seek a court order extending the canvass period, in certain
circumstances. (Elec. Code, § 15701.) State law also provides that a superior
court in the county of a voter’s residence may order a voter’s provisional ballot to
be included in any semiofficial or official canvas. (Elec. Code,
§ 14310(c)(2)(A)(iii).)
Alternatively, California law permits a voter to file a motion in superior court on
Election Day to compel registration if the voter registered to vote on or before the
deadline to register at the DMV or another voter registration agency designated as
such under the NVRA. (Elec. Code, § 2142.) Conditional voter registration (and
conditional voting) are also available at specific locations starting the day after the
close of registration up through Election Day. (Elec. Code, § 2170.)
B. Minority Language Availability
DMV makes voter registration available in the following languages: English,
Spanish, Chinese, Hindi, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Tagalog, Thai, and
Vietnamese. The Secretary of State prints and distributes VRCs in the same
languages. Upon request, the Secretary of State will provide county elections
officials with VRCs in one or more languages. The elections official will, in turn,
supply these forms as required, or upon request, to local DMV field offices within
their county.
C. DMV Mobile Units in Rural Counties
Some counties do not have DMV field offices, but instead are served by mobile
units, or “travel runs.” Processing requirements are the same for travel runs.
5
This notification requirement is pursuant to the above-referenced Stipulation.
Chapter 3 – page i
Chapter 3
NVRA Implementation at Public Assistance Agencies,
Agencies Serving People with Disabilities, and Other Designated Agencies
Table of Contents
I. Section 7 of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) ……..………...…………1
A. Designated Voter Registration Agencies (VRAs)……….………………......1
B. Responsibilities of Voter Registration Agency Offices ………….……….... 2
C. Equal Assistance …………………………………………………...…………. 3
D. Forwarding the Voter Registration Card and Retaining the Voter
Preference Form ………………………………………………………………. 3
E. Restrictions on Influencing Applicants …………….………………..………. 3
II. Elections Code Division 2, Chapter 6 - Senate Bill (SB) 35 ……………….…….…4
A. Elections Code Overview ….……………………………………….…………. 4
B. Tracking VRA Voter Registrations ……………………………….….….....…. 5
C. VRA Training …………….……………………………………………….….…. 5
D. Designating a VRA Coordinator ……………………………….……….…… . 6
E. Instructions from State Agencies …………………..…………….……..……. 6
III. Voter Registration Services under the NVRA …………………..……….……….…. 6
A. How the NVRA Works in Practice ……………………….…………..………. 6
B. Voter Preference Form and Voter Registration Card ………………..…….. 8
C. Obtaining Supplies of Voter Registration Cards .………..………….………. 9
D. Confidentiality ………………………………………………...…….……..…. 10
E. Providing NVRA Materials in Other Languages …………..……...….……. 11
IV. Transmittal Deadlines and Late Registrations …………..…………...…...….……. 11
Chapter 3 – page ii
A. Transmittal of Voter Registration Cards to County Elections
Officials ……………………………………………..……………..….………. 11
B. Timely Voter Registrations ………….……….……………….……………... 12
V. Resources ………….……….……………………………............................................12
Chapter 3 – page 1
I. Section 7 of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA)
A. Designated Voter Registration Agencies (VRAs)
The NVRA requires states to offer voter registration services at all public assistance
and disability service offices. Specifically, Section 7
1
of the NVRA requires states to
designate as voter registration agencies (VRAs) all offices that provide public
assistance and state-funded programs primarily engaged in providing services to
persons with disabilities. (52 U.S.C. § 20506(a)(2).) Additionally, it requires the
designation of “other” state offices as VRAs. (52 U.S.C. § 20506(a)(3).) The NVRA
also requires states to designate Armed Forces recruitment offices and other offices
in the state as VRAs. (52 U.S.C. § 20506(c).)
In California, the following offices are designated as VRAs under the NVRA:
Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV)
Public Assistance Agencies
• California Student Aid Commission (CSAC)
• County offices that administer General Assistance/General Relief Programs
• Covered California:
o California’s Health Benefit Exchange and certified enrollment entities, county
social services offices, certified insurance agents
• Department of Health Care Services and county social services offices:
o Medi-Cal Program
• Department of Public Health (DPH) and community-based agencies under
contract with DPH:
o Women, Infants, and Children Nutrition Program (WIC)
• Department of Social Services (DSS) and county social services offices:
o California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKS)
o CalFresh Program
o In-Home Supportive Services Program
• Private entities under contract with Public Assistance Agencies to provide
NVRA-related services
1
Throughout this chapter, “Section 7” refers to 52 U.S.C. § 20506.
Chapter 3 – page 2
State-Funded Agencies Primarily Serving Persons with Disabilities
• Department of Developmental Services (DDS) and community-based agencies
under contract with DDS:
o Regional Centers
• Department of Rehabilitation (DOR) and community-based agencies under
contract with DOR:
o Vocational Rehabilitation Services
o Independent Living Centers
• Department of Social Services (DSS) and community-based agencies under
contract with DSS:
o Office of Deaf Access (to provide services to the deaf)
• Department of Social Services (DSS):
o Office of Services to the Blind, Assistance Dog Special Allowance Program
• University of California (UC) Offices for Students with Disabilities
• California State University (CSU) Offices for Students with Disabilities
• California Community Colleges (CCC) Offices for Students with Disabilities
• Private entities under contract with Disability Service Agencies to provide NVRA-
related services
State and County Mental Health Providers
Armed Forces Recruitment Offices
Other Agencies Designated by the State Under NVRA
• Franchise Tax Board district offices
• California Department of Tax and Fee Administration offices
• Private entities under contract with these agencies to provide NVRA-related
services
B. Responsibilities of Voter Registration Agency Offices
At a minimum, the NVRA requires voter registration agencies (VRAs) to provide voter
registration services each time a person:
• applies for services or assistance;
• requests renewal or recertification; or
• requests a change of address.
(52 U.S.C. § 20506(a)(6).)
Chapter 3 – page 3
The NVRA requires VRAs to provide the following voter registration services to each
applicant:
• distribute a Voter Registration Card (VRC);
• distribute a Voter Preference Form (Preference Form);
• assist each applicant with completing the VRC, unless the applicant refuses
such assistance;
• accept and send completed VRC to elections officials; and
• keep the completed Preference Form on file for two years.
(52 U.S.C. § 20506(a)(4), (6).)
These voter registration services must be provided whether the transaction is
conducted in person or remotely, for example via phone, email, or Internet.
C. Equal Assistance
The NVRA requires VRAs to assist applicants with filling out the VRC. Section 7
specifically requires that agencies provide each person the same degree of
assistance in completing the VRC as is provided by the office in completing its own
agency forms, unless the person declines assistance. (52 U.S.C. § 20506(a)(6)(C).)
The applicant has the right to complete the VRC without assistance, but equal
assistance also entails reviewing the VRC and Preference Form for completeness,
just as the agency would review its own forms for completeness.
When an agency provides services to a person with a disability at the person's home,
the agency must also provide voter registration services at the person's home. (52
U.S.C. § 20506(a)(4)(B).)
Agencies may provide the Secretary of State’s Voter Hotline: (800) 345-VOTE (8683)
(or the other toll-free hotlines that are available in 9 languages) for applicants to use
if they need help registering or have questions about their voting rights. They may
also direct applicants to RegisterToVote.ca.gov, California’s Online Voter
Registration application that is available in 10 languages and is accessible for
applicants who use screen readers.
D. Forwarding the Voter Registration Card and Retaining the Voter Preference
Form
The NVRA requires VRAs to forward completed VRCs to elections offices within 10
days of receipt (within 5 days, if received within 5 days of the voter registration
deadline). (52 U.S.C. § 20506(d).) As a best practice, agencies should forward VRCs
on a daily basis. VRCs are pre-addressed to the county elections office and contain
a postage-paid stamp.
Chapter 3 – page 4
The NVRA requires VRAs to keep completed Preference Forms on file at the agency
for two years. Preference Forms can be stored in a central, chronological file, so that
the agency can easily determine how many Preference Forms are received in a given
month, which can help demonstrate NVRA compliance. They can also be kept in each
client’s file and maintained in either hard copy or in an electronic format.
E. Restrictions on Influencing Applicants
The NVRA places restrictions on how VRA staff may interact with applicants when
providing the opportunity to register to vote. VRA staff must not:
• seek to influence an applicant's political party preference;
• display any political party preference or allegiance;
• make any statement to an applicant or take any action the purpose or effect of
which is to discourage the applicant from registering to vote; or
• make any statement to an applicant or take any action the purpose or effect of
which is to lead the applicant to believe that a decision to register or not to
register has any bearing on the availability of services or benefits.
(52 U.S.C. § 20506(a)(5).)
II. Elections Code Division 2, Chapter 6 - Senate Bill (SB) 35
Elections Code section 2400 et. seq is California’s NVRA law, which became effective in
January 2013 (See Senate Bill (SB) 35 (Padilla), Chapter 505, Statutes of 2012). It
places requirements on VRAs, county elections officials, and the Secretary of State.
A. Elections Code Overview
Elections Code sections 2406 and 2408 require VRAs to do the following:
• notify the county elections office of each office or site in the county (Elec. Code,
§ 2406(a)(1));
• designate a VRA coordinator (Elec. Code, § 2406(a)(2));
• order VRCs exclusively from the county elections office
2
(Elec. Code, §
2406(a)(3));
• offer minority language forms as required by the federal Voting Rights Act
(Elec. Code, § 2406(a)(4));
• train employees annually (Elec. Code, § 2406(a)(5)); and
2
The offices for students with disabilities at the public education institutions and the office of Services
to the Blind, Assistance Dog Special Allowance Program order state VRCs directly from the Secretary
of State’s office, as they serve students and clients from multiple counties across the State.
Chapter 3 – page 5
• offer an online Voter Preference Form and link to California Online Voter
Registration (RegisterToVote.ca.gov) if the agency offers enrollment, renewal,
or change of address transactions online (Elec. Code, § 2408(a)).
County elections officials must report the number of voter registrations generated
by each VRA office or site in the county. (Elec. Code, §§ 2405, 2407.) The Secretary
of State has developed a reporting template for the 58 county elections offices. The
county elections office reporting template contains a list of the known VRA offices
and sites in each county. County elections officials must maintain an up-to-date list
of the VRA offices and sites in the county and add new offices and sites to the list as
appropriate.
The Secretary of State must prepare training materials, post county NVRA reports
on the Secretary of State’s NVRA website, and coordinate NVRA compliance
throughout the state. (Elec. Code, §§ 2404, 2407.)
Additionally, the Secretary of State will report the number of voter registrations
generated from VRAs’ unique URLs, as well as from the offices for students with
disabilities at the University of California, California State University, and California
Community Colleges (collectively referred to as “public education institutions”), and
the office of Services to the Blind, Assistance Dog Special Allowance Program, as
those VRAs order state VRCs directly from the Secretary of State’s office.
B. Tracking VRA Voter Registrations
In order to properly track VRA voter registrations, VRAs must order all supplies of
blank VRCs from county elections officials, and county elections officials must record
the serial numbers of the VRCs supplied to each VRA office or site. (Elec. Code, §§
2405, 2406.) VRAs with multiple offices or sites in a county must coordinate
distribution of the VRCs with county elections officials to ensure proper tracking.
(Elec. Code, §§ 2405, 2406.)
The exceptions to this requirement are those specified VRAs, offices for students with
disabilities at the public education institutions and office of Services to the Blind,
Assistance Dog Special Allowance Program, whose clients do not necessarily live in
one county; those VRAs order state VRCs directly from the Secretary of State’s office.
The Secretary of State records the serial numbers from those state VRCs and tracks
those registrations. Additionally, the Secretary of State will report the number of voter
registrations generated from VRA’s unique URLs.
C. VRA Training
VRAs must to train employees annually on NVRA requirements and on how to assist
applicants with voter registration. (Elec. Code, § 2403.) County elections officials
must assist with training, if requested by a VRA. (Elec. Code, § 2405.) The Secretary
of State has created specific NVRA/SB 35 training for county elections officials, VRA
Chapter 3 – page 6
coordinators, and VRA staff. The training materials are available on the Secretary of
State’s NVRA website: sos.ca.gov/elections/nvra/training/. (See Elec. Code, §
2404(a)(2).)
In order to ensure uniform compliance, VRAs should develop scripts for their staff to
use when providing voter registration services under the NVRA.
D. Designating a VRA Coordinator
VRAs must appoint one staff person at each agency office to be in charge of NVRA
compliance, including arranging staff training, ordering supplies of VRCs from the
county elections office (or for those identified VRAs-from the Secretary of State’s
office), and ensuring VRCs are submitted in a timely manner to the county elections
office (or the Secretary of State’s office if it is a state VRC). (Elec. Code, § 2406(a)(2).)
E. Instructions from State Agencies
Since the passage of SB 35, many of California’s VRAs have issued some form of
guidance to their local agencies/offices with respect to NVRA and the California
Elections Code requirements and the implementation of those requirements. These
guidance letters are available on the Secretary of State’s website:
www.sos.ca.gov/elections/voter-registration/nvra/voter-registration-agencies/nvra-
agency-guidance-letters/.
III. Voter Registration Services under the NVRA
A. How the NVRA Works in Practice
Below are examples of how NVRA compliance can be accomplished when
conducting NVRA-covered transactions in various settings: in person, by mail, over
the phone, or via email or the Internet. Agencies have flexibility in determining the
best methods to use to ensure NVRA compliance in each setting. Therefore, in the
following descriptions, the term “must” indicates a specific practice is mandated under
the NVRA, while the term “should” indicates a recommended practice that can help
ensure compliance but which is not expressly mandated under the NVRA.
The United States Department of Justice (US DOJ) has published guidance on
complying with the NVRA that contains a number of the practices described below.
For more information, please visit the US DOJ Civil Rights Division Voting Section
website directly at: www.justice.gov/crt/national-voter-registration-act-1993-nvra
In-Person/Mail Transactions: Voter registration agencies must include a VRC and
Voter Preference Form in the agency’s standard packet of application materials
handed or mailed to applicants who request services or benefits, renewal,
recertification, or a change of name or address. If the applicant returns the mailed
Chapter 3 – page 7
packet without the VRC or Voter Preference Form, the agency should follow up with
the applicant once to attempt to gather the missing form(s).
Agencies must offer voter registration services to the person who is filling out the
agency’s forms. This includes a parent or guardian completing forms for a
child. Agencies must provide assistance with completing the VRC and the
Preference Form to the extent as it is provided with respect to every other service of
application for benefits.
Phone Transactions: Voter registration agency staff must ask applicants who apply
for services or benefits, renewal, recertification, or a change of address by phone: “If
you are not registered to vote where you live now, would you like to register today?”
Agency staff must note the applicant’s response on the Preference Form and if the
applicant says “yes” the agency must provide the applicant an opportunity to register
to vote by sending a VRC to the applicant by mail.
Email and Internet Transactions: Under the California Elections Code VRAs that offer
the opportunity to apply online for service, assistance, or to submit a recertification,
renewal, or change of address form online must allow the applicant to electronically
submit a Preference Form and connect the applicant to the Secretary of State’s online
voter registration form (RegisterToVote.ca.gov). Agencies must record the applicant’s
electronic Voter Preference Form decision. Agencies must send applicants a
Preference Form and VRC if the applicant does not answer the electronic Preference
Form.
Agencies that connect applicants to the online voter registration form must coordinate
with the Secretary of State to establish electronic tracking of the number of applicants
who use this form to register to vote. In addition, VRAs should include a link on the
agency’s main webpage to the Secretary of State’s online voter registration form:
RegisterToVote.ca.gov/
Voter Registration at Public Counters: In addition to offering voter registration during
NVRA-covered transactions, it is a best practice for VRAs to offer applicants or others
an opportunity to register to vote in public areas and waiting rooms by keeping a
supply of VRCs on public counters and displaying voter information. VRC supplies
must be obtained from the county elections office where the agency is located.
However, the offices for students with disabilities at the public education institutions
and the office of Services to the Blind, Assistance Dog Special Allowance Program
obtain their VRCs directly from the Secretary of State. To obtain voter educational
materials, such as posters, DVDs, and brochures, please call the Secretary of State’s
NVRA Office at (916) 657-2166 or email [email protected].
Technology Upgrades: When upgrading technology related to the application,
renewal or recertification, or change of address process, VRAs must ensure that voter
registration services, as required by the NVRA, are integrated. (Elec. Code, § 2408.)
Chapter 3 – page 8
For example, if the agency offers online enrollment in services or benefits, the website
enrollment interview should include an electronic Preference Form and a link to the
Secretary of State’s online voter registration form (RegisterToVote.ca.gov/), where
the applicant can register to vote online.
B. Voter Preference Form and Voter Registration Card
The NVRA requires VRAs to give applicants for services or assistance both a Voter
Preference Form (Preference Form) and a VRC.
Preference Form
The Preference Form must contain certain statutory language, as specified by
Section 7 of the NVRA. The Secretary of State has developed a uniform Preference
Form for California VRAs to use. (A Preference Form is attached as Appendix A.)
If VRA chooses to create its own Preference Form, the form must include the
following NVRA required language:
• the question: “If you are not registered to vote where you live now, would you
like to apply to register to vote here today?”;
• if the agency provides public assistance, the statement: “Applying to register
or declining to register to vote will not affect the amount of assistance you will
be provided by this agency.”;
• boxes for the applicant to check to indicate whether the applicant would like to
register to vote or decline to register to vote, together with the statement (in
close proximity to the boxes and in prominent type), “IF YOU DO NOT CHECK
A BOX, YOU WILL BE CONSIDERED TO HAVE DECIDED NOT TO
REGISTER TO VOTE AT THIS TIME. You may take the attached voter
registration form to register at your convenience.”;
• the statement: “If you would like help in filling out the voter registration form,
we will help you. The decision whether to seek or accept help is yours. You
may fill out the voter registration form in private.”; and
• the statement, “If you believe that someone has interfered with your right to
register or to decline to register to vote, your right to privacy in deciding
whether to register or in applying to register to vote, or your right to choose
your own political party preference or other political preference, you may file a
complaint with _____________.” (The blank should be filled with the name, address,
telephone number, and website of Secretary of State.)
As noted above, both the Preference Form and the VRC must be provided to each
applicant along with the agency’s own forms routinely distributed to applicants during
intake, renewal, recertification, and change of address procedures. (Elec. Code, §
2401(a); 52 U.S.C. § 20506(a)(6)(B).)
Chapter 3 – page 9
Completing the Preference Form
For in-person transactions, the voter registration agency should ask the applicant to
complete the Preference Form and VRC.
For mail transactions, if an applicant does not complete and return a Preference
Form, agency staff should attempt to follow up once with the applicant to find out
whether the applicant would like to register to vote or needs assistance.
For phone transactions, agency staff should record the applicant’s preference.
Agencies are not required to complete Preference Forms on behalf of applicants who
choose not to return the Preference Form in a transaction. In such instances, after
following up with the person, agencies may include a blank Preference Form with the
applicant’s name in their records and write “no response” on the form.
Voter Registration Card (VRC)
The NVRA requires all states to accept the National Mail Voter Registration Form,
but allows each state to develop its own voter registration form, as long as it is
equivalent to the federal form. (Image of the Voter Registration Card is attached as
Appendix B.)
In California, the Secretary of State prints and supplies VRCs to county elections
officials. (Elec. Code, § 2161.) In turn, county elections officials distribute supplies
of VRCs to VRAs within the county. (Elec. Code, § 2405(b)(1).)
County elections officials record the serial number ranges of VRCs distributed to voter
registration agencies in order to be able to track the number of completed VRCs
returned and attribute new registration data to the voter registration agency office or
site that distributed the form. (Elec. Code, § 2405(b)(2).) The Secretary of State
records the serial number ranges of VRCs distributed to the offices for students with
disabilities at the public education institutions and the office of Services to the Blind,
Assistance Dog Special Allowance Program.
VRAs must distribute the VRC rather than the National Mail Voter Registration Form
in order to ensure county elections officials can properly track and report the number
of registrations each VRA generates.
C. Obtaining Supplies of Voter Registration Cards
The Secretary of State prints county-specific postage-paid VRCs, which include the
address of the county elections office, for each of California’s 58 counties. (Elec.
Code, § 2161.)
Chapter 3 – page 10
Public assistance service agencies, disability service agencies, and other VRAs must
obtain supplies of VRCs from the county elections office in the county where the
agency office is located. The only exception is for the offices for students with
disabilities at the public education institutions and the office of Services to the Blind,
Assistance Dog Special Allowance Program, which have been directed to order state
VRCs from the Secretary of State’s office. This will ensure proper tracking and
reporting of completed registrations and help attribute new registrations to the correct
VRA.
As noted above, while the National Voter Registration Form is valid and accepted in
California, VRAs should obtain and distribute supplies of the state VRC from their
county elections office (or from the Secretary of State for those previously identified
VRAs). The national form contains no serial number and gives county elections
officials no method of tracking whether a new registration came from a VRA.
Using the California VRC helps ensure: 1) completed VRCs will be returned to the
county elections office where the voter lives, because the VRC is self-addressed and
postage paid; and 2) the county elections office can properly track and report the
number of voter registrations coming from local VRA offices.
The Secretary of State, the United States Election Assistance Commission, and the
United States Department of Justice review reports of the number of voter
registrations coming from VRAs in order to determine whether agencies are providing
the opportunity to register to vote in compliance with the NVRA. To ensure VRAs are
recognized for their compliance with the NVRA, all supplies of VRCs must be
obtained from the county elections office in which the agency is located (or from the
Secretary of State for those previously identified VRAs).
Another way of tracking voter registration generated from NVRA agencies is by way
of unique URLs. All California VRAs are provided a unique URL that can be posted
on their agencies’ websites directing visitors of their sites to the California online voter
registration application at RegisterToVote.ca.gov. The Secretary of State’s office
tracks registrations identified with the unique URLs and credits the appropriate VRA.
D. Confidentiality
The NVRA requires a voter’s decision to register or decline to register to vote to be
kept confidential, except for voter registration purposes. The NVRA also requires the
location (e.g., public assistance agency) where an applicant registers to be kept
confidential. One of the primary goals of the NVRA’s confidentiality provisions is to
protect the privacy of applicants who receive public assistance or disability services.
In California, VRAs and county elections offices must keep information regarding an
applicant’s choice to register or decline to register, including Preference Forms, as
well as the identity of the agency through which a particular voter registered
confidential.
Chapter 3 – page 11
In order to protect privacy and accurately report on voter registration at VRAs, county
elections officials should distribute VRCs by assigning specific blocks of VRC affidavit
numbers to the VRAs and tracking those affidavit numbers as completed VRCs are
returned to elections offices.
E. Providing NVRA Materials in Other Languages
Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA) requires that, in covered
jurisdictions, all election information available in English be made available in certain
minority languages. Covered jurisdictions are determined by the Census Bureau
based upon a formula in the VRA. Under the most recent United States Census
Bureau determination, the state of California is covered for Spanish language
assistance. Additionally, nine counties are covered for one or more Asian languages.
The NVRA requires that voter registration agencies in counties covered by Section
203 of the VRA provide election materials in covered languages.
Agencies with offices in counties covered by Section 203 of the VRA should contact
their county elections offices for materials, including VRCs in covered languages.
County elections offices have supplies of VRCs in every language required by the
federal Voting Rights Act in that county.
The Preference Form is available in 10 languages: English, Spanish, Chinese, Hindi,
Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Tagalog, Thai, and Vietnamese. All versions of the
Preference Form may be downloaded and printed from the Secretary of State’s NVRA
website: sos.ca.gov/elections/voter-registration/nvra/training/voter-preference-forms/
IV. Transmittal Deadlines and Late Registrations
A. Transmittal of Voter Registration Cards to County Elections Officials
The NVRA requires that VRA offices and sites transmit completed VRCs to the county
elections office within 10 days. If a VRA receives a completed VRC within five days
of the voter registration deadline (the 15
th
day prior to an election), the agency must
transmit the VRC to the county elections office within five days. However, it is
recommended as a best practice that VRAs transmit VRCs to elections officials daily.
In order to meet these transmittal deadlines, each VRA office must establish
procedures for ensuring timely transmittal of accepted forms to the appropriate local
elections official. These procedures should be developed in consultation with the
local elections official to whom the forms will be transmitted.
Best Practice - Daily transmittal of completed VRCs
Since the California VRC is a self-addressed and postage-paid form, VRAs should
make it part of their daily routine to place completed VRCs in the mail. If the agency
Chapter 3 – page 12
is located in the same facility as the county elections office, the agency may hand
deliver or use inter-office mail on a daily basis to transmit completed VRCs to the
county elections office.
B. Timely Voter Registrations
The voter registration deadline in California is the 15
th
day prior to each election.
Under the NVRA, if a person completes and submits a VRC to a VRA on or before
the voter registration deadline, the registration is timely. (See Chapter 4, Voter List
Maintenance, Section II, Receipt of Voter Registration Cards.)
VRAs should make every effort to transmit completed registration forms from their
offices and sites daily in order to minimize the number of registrations that arrive at
the elections office after the deadline to register.
County elections officials should notify VRA offices of upcoming election dates and
voter registration deadlines and should remind VRAs of the need to transmit VRCs
on a daily basis. This will help minimize the number of provisional ballots used in a
given election.
V. Resources
Secretary of State NVRA Coordinator
Phone: (916) 657-2166
Fax: (916) 653-3214
Email: nvr[email protected]a.gov
Secretary of State NVRA Website
sos.ca.gov/elections/voter-registration/nvra/
Training Information and Resources for NVRA Agencies
sos.ca.gov/elections/voter-registration/nvra/training/
Voter Hotlines
(800) 345-VOTE (8683) - English
(800) 232-VOTA (8682) - Español / Spanish
(800) 339-2857 - 中文 / Chinese
(888) 345-2692 - / Hindi
(800) 339-2865 - 日本語 / Japanese
(888) 345-4917 - ែខ� រ / Khmer
(866) 575-1558 - 한국어 / Korean
Chapter 3 – page 13
(800) 339-2957 - Tagalog
(855) 345-3933 - ภาษาไทย/Thai
(800) 339-8163 - Việt ngữ / Vietnamese
(800) 833-8683 - TTY/TDD
County Elections Offices
www.sos.ca.gov/elections/voting-resources/county-elections-offices/
U.S. Department of Justice - Civil Rights Division Voting Section
justice.gov/crt/about/vot/nvra/activ_nvra.php
Chapter 4
Voter Registration Applications and Voter List Maintenance
Table of Contents
Table of Contents..............................................................................................................1
I. Overview.................................................................................................................1
II. Acceptance of Valid Voter Registration Application................................................ 1
III. Notification of Disposition of Voter Registration Application: Voter Notification
Card........................................................................................................................3
A. Application Accepted ...................................................................................3
B. Application Rejected or Request to Cure Defect ..........................................4
IV. Residency Confirmation Procedures and Mailings..................................................6
A. Voter Notification Card (VNC) ...................................................................... 7
B. Preelection Residency Confirmation Postcard .............................................8
1. National Change of Address System (NCOA) Data ........................10
2. County Voter Information Guide......................................................11
3. Consumer Credit Reporting Agency ................................................12
C. Alternative Residency Confirmation (ARC) Postcard .................................12
V. Address Confirmation Notices; Updating and Inactivating Voter Records .......... 13
A. Address Confirmation Notices Sent for In-State Moves ............................. 14
B. Address Confirmation Notices Sent for Out-of-State Moves....................... 15
C. Address Confirmation Notices Sent If No Forwarding Address .................. 16
D. Updating or Inactivating Registrations Based on Responses to
Address Confirmation Notices....................................................................16
1. Elections Code Section 2225(b) ......................................................16
2. Elections Code Section 2225(c)/Section 8(d)(2) of the NVRA ......... 17
Chapter 4 – page i
VI. Cancellation of Voter Registration Records..........................................................17
A. Voter Registration in General is Permanent Unless it is Cancelled ........... 17
B. When Voter Registration Records are to be Cancelled Pursuant to State
Law ............................................................................................................17
1. County elections officials shall cancel voter registration records in
the following cases:.........................................................................17
2. The Secretary of State may cancel voter registration records in the
following cases:............................................................................... 18
C. Precancellation and Cancellation of Voter Registrations for Specific
Reasons.....................................................................................................18
1. Precancellation................................................................................ 18
2. Cancellation .................................................................................... 19
Chapter 4 – page ii
I. Overview
Promoting the exercise of the fundamental right to vote and facilitating voter participation
in elections is at the heart of the NVRA. (52 U.S.C. § 20501.) Exemplifying these
principles, the purposes of the NVRA are fourfold: “(1) to establish procedures that will
increase the number of eligible citizens who register to vote in elections for Federal office;
(2) to make it possible for Federal, State, and local governments to implement this
chapter in a manner that enhances the participation of eligible citizens as voters in
elections for Federal office; (3) to protect the integrity of the electoral process; and (4) to
ensure that accurate and current voter registration rolls are maintained.”
Section 8
1
of the NVRA requires that any list maintenance program aimed at ensuring the
integrity of voter registration rolls conforms to certain basic requirements, and be uniform,
nondiscriminatory and in compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965. (52 U.S.C. §
20507.) Section 8 also establishes specific requirements concerning (1) voter registration
processing; (2) notices to voters regarding the disposition of voter registration
applications; (3) maintenance of a general program that makes a “reasonable effort to
remove the names of ineligible voters from the lists of eligible voters” by reason of death
or change in the residence of the registrant. (52 U.S.C. § 20507.) And, Section 8(d)
provides that voters shall not be removed from the official list of eligible voters on the
ground that the registrant has changed residence unless (1) the registrant confirms in
writing a change of residence outside the registrar’s jurisdiction, or (2) the registrant has
failed to respond to an address confirmation notice in the form specified in Section
8(d)(2), and has not offered or appeared to vote in any election within the next two federal
general election cycles following the date of the address confirmation notice.
2
California law imposes its own requirements regarding notifications to persons who
register to vote and list maintenance activities. The following sections describe these
state law requirements and their relationship to the requirements under Section 8 of the
NVRA.
II. Acceptance of Valid Voter Registration Application
The NVRA specifies the time period for accepting valid voter registration applications
(also known in the paper form as voter registration cards (VRCs)), and for determining
eligibility for an upcoming election. The NVRA requires states to accept valid voter
registration applications submitted to any NVRA voter registration agency by the state’s
1
Throughout this chapter, “Section 8” refers to 52 U.S.C. § 20507.
2
Counties must maintain all records concerning the implementation of programs and activities conducted
for the purpose of ensuring the accuracy and currency of official lists of eligible voters, with some
exceptions. “Records” includes lists of the names and addresses of voters to whom Section 8(d)(2) notices
were sent, and information concerning whether the voters responded. (See, Chapter 6, Recordkeeping and
Reporting Requirements; 52 U.S.C. § 20507(i).)
Chapter 4 – page 1
voter registration deadline, which in California is 15 days before each election. (Elec.
Code, § 2102; 52 U.S.C. § 20507(a)(1).)
3
Under the NVRA, a voter registration application must be accepted as timely for an
upcoming election if it is received in one of the following ways:
By an elections official by mail, and was:
• Postmarked on or before the voter registration deadline
By the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), and was:
• Submitted to DMV on or before the voter registration deadline
By another NVRA voter registration agency, and was:
• Accepted at the agency on or before the voter registration deadline
By an elections official, and was:
• Received by the elections official on or before the voter registration
deadline
(52 U.S.C. § 20507(a)(1)(A)-(D).)
California law generally mirrors the NVRA with respect to the time periods for determining
eligibility. Under California law, a voter registration deadline is 15 days prior to the
election. (Elec. Code, §§ 2102 (a)(1)-(4), 2114, 2119(d)(1)-(4).) California law also
provides for registration over the internet through the California Online Voter Registration
Application, which must be submitted on or before the 15-day voter registration deadline.
(Elec. Code, § 2196.) The Secretary of State has issued a guidance document, “Updating
Voter Registration Dates,” for county elections officials to use when adding or updating
voter registration dates. (See guidance document, Updating Voter Registration Dates,
attached as Appendix C.) This guidance document addresses the applicable registration
date for voter registration applications submitted to and/or processed by an NVRA
registration agency.
The DMV and other agencies designated as NVRA voter registration agencies must
transmit completed paper VRCs to elections officials within 10 days of acceptance and
within five days, if accepted within five days of the voter registration deadline. (52 U.S.C.
§§ 20504(e), 20506(d).) As a best practice, the Secretary of State recommends daily
transmittal of paper VRCs to elections officials to minimize the potential for delay and to
ensure that eligible voters can vote in an upcoming federal, state, and local election.
County elections officials must process voter registration applications immediately. (Cal.
Code Regs., tit. 2, §§ 19061, 19062.) While delays may occur in the transmittal of voter
registration applications from the DMV or another NVRA voter registration agency,
elections offices must nevertheless process as timely, completed applications that are:
3
In California, same day voter registration/conditional voter registration (CVR) and CVR provisional voting is
available following the 15-day close of registration up through and including Election Day. CVR and CVR
provisional voting are offered at all polling locations. (Elec. Code, § 2170.)
Chapter 4 – page 2
(1) accepted by the DMV or another NVRA voter registration agency on or before the voter
registration deadline, and (2) received by the elections official prior to the certification of
the election. (Elec. Code, § 2102(a)(2); Cal. Code Regs., tit. 2, § 19076.)
III. Notification of Disposition of Voter Registration Application: Voter
Notification Card
Section 8 of the NVRA requires that elections officials notify each voter registration
applicant of the disposition of their voter registration application: whether the application is
accepted, rejected, or additional information is needed. (52 U.S.C. § 20507(a)(2).)
While the NVRA is silent with respect to a particular method for notifying an applicant
about the disposition of their application, state law provides for the following methods and
requirements.
A. Application Accepted
A completed voter registration application must contain the following statutorily
required information: facts establishing the applicant as an elector, the applicant’s
name, place of residence, mailing address if different than the place of residence,
date of birth, country of birth, driver license (or state identification card) number or
last four digits of social security number, and that the applicant is not in state or
federal prison for a felony conviction. (Elec. Code, § 2150(a).) The application must
also certify as to the truthfulness and correctness of the contents and be signed
under penalty of perjury. (Elec. Code, § 2150(b).)
In California, when a voter registration application is processed and the applicant’s
eligibility is verified, the application is accepted and the applicant becomes a
registered voter, or if it is a reregistration, the voter’s existing registration record is
updated. (Elec. Code, §§ 2102, 2115, 2119, 2119.5, 2155, 2170.) Once an
application is accepted or a registration updated (including the updating of a mailing
address), the county elections official must provide notification to the voter by
mailing a non-forwardable Voter Notification Card (VNC).
4
(Elec. Code, § 2155.)
County elections officials mail the VNCs to the residence address listed, unless a
separate mailing address has been provided. California law allows the county
elections official to notify applicants of properly executed affidavits of registration by
text message or email that their voter registration information has been received
and that they will receive a VNC. (Elec. Code, § 2155.4.)
4
Pursuant to California law, county elections officials also mail a VNC upon receipt of an address correction
notice or letter responding to a mailing under Elections Code sections 2119, 2155, 2220 through 2226, or
the NVRA. (Elec. Code, §§ 2155, 2155.3.)
Chapter 4 – page 3
Elections Code section 2155 provides that the voter notification shall be in
substantially the following form:
VOTER NOTIFICATION
You are registered to vote. The party preference you chose, if any, is on this card.
This card is being sent as a notification of:
1. Your recently completed affidavit of registration.
OR,
2. A change to your registration because of an official notice that you have
moved. If your residence address has not changed or if your move is
temporary, please call or write to our office immediately.
OR,
3. Your recent registration with a change in party preference. If this change
is not correct, please call or write to our office immediately.
You may vote in any election held 15 or more days after the date on this
card.
Your name will appear on the roster kept at the polls.
Please contact our office if the information shown on the reverse side of
this card is incorrect.
(This language is also found in Appendix D, Recommended Language for List
Maintenance Mailings; a diagram related to this and other mailings is attached as
Appendix E.) The VNC satisfies the NVRA’s requirement to notify each voter
registration applicant of the disposition of their registration application. (52 U.S.C. §
20507(a)(2).)
B. Application Rejected or Request to Cure Defect
A county elections official may reject an application if (1) the applicant does not
meet the qualifications for registering to vote; or (2) the application is missing
required information, and the missing information does not have an applicable
rebuttable presumption and the elections official cannot obtain the information from
the applicant. (Elec. Code, §§ 2150, 2153, 2154.)
When required information is missing from the voter registration application, county
elections offices must attempt to contact the applicant. (Elec. Code, §§ 2150,
2153.) For example, if an applicant has not checked the “Yes” box to indicate U.S.
citizenship and instead left the U.S. citizenship check box on the application blank,
the application cannot be accepted; the county elections official must attempt to
Chapter 4 – page 4
______________________
contact the applicant to seek this information. (See Elec. Code, §§ 2111, 2112,
2150(a)(1), 2153; 52 U.S.C. § 21083(b)(4)(A), (B) (HAVA).)
Generally, if required information is missing, but the mailing address is legible, the
county elections official must send the applicant a new VRC or document
requesting the missing information. With respect to the effective date of the
affidavit, the following guidance has been provided:
If upon initial submission, a signature is missing:
after the applicant returns the VRC or document with the signature, the
voter registration application must be processed, and the voter registered
with an effective date of the date the unsigned affidavit was initially
received.
If upon initial submission other information, such as a date of birth, name, or
citizenship affirmation is missing, or if the applicant used a PO Box or
business address as a residence address, or if the stated address is
nonexistent:
after the applicant returns the VRC or document providing the missing
information, the voter registration application must be processed, and the
voter registered with an effective date of the date the affidavit is
completed or the missing information is received.
(See Appendix C, Updating Voter Registration Dates.) If no response is received
from the applicant, then the applicant shall not be registered. (Elec. Code, § 2153.)
However, if the voter registration application is executed under penalty of perjury,
and the missing information falls within the “rebuttable presumption” category, the
application cannot be rejected, and the county elections official is not required to
contact the applicant for this information. (Elec. Code, § 2154.) The following are
rebuttable presumptions set forth in California law:
• No middle name or initial is provided – the presumption is that none exists.
• No party preference is provided – the presumption is that the applicant declined
to disclose a party preference.
5
5
Updates to a voter registration record through a California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV)-based voter
registration transaction are handled differently: when an applicant updates their voter registration record, but does
not indicate a party preference, and a preference had previously been chosen, the party preference reverts to the
most recent party preference. (See Section III of Chapter 2, Voter Registration at Department of Motor Vehicles
(DMV).)
Chapter 4 – page 5
_______________________
• No execution date is provided – the presumption is that the application was
executed on or before the 15-day close of registration, provided that the county
elections official either: (1) received the application on or before the 15-day
close; or (2) received by mail the application and it is postmarked on or before
the 15-day close.
• No state of birth within the United States is provided, but instead “U.S.A.,”
“United States,” or other indication of the United States is provided – the
presumption is that the applicant was born in a state or territory of the United
States. The affiant’s failure to furnish their place birth shall not preclude their
affidavit of registration from being deemed complete. However, as stated above,
the affiant must have checked the “Yes” box to indicate U.S. Citizenship before
an affidavit of registration can be deemed complete.
(Elec. Code, § 2154(a)-(d).)
If the application is rejected for other reasons, the county elections officials must
notify the applicant of the reason for rejection. (Elec. Code, § 2153; 52 U.S.C. §
20507(a)(2).)
IV. Residency Confirmation Procedures and Mailings
Section 8 requires that the state “conduct a general program that makes a reasonable
effort to remove the names of ineligible voters from the official lists of eligible voters by
reason of” death or change of address. (52 U.S.C. § 20507(a).) The NVRA does not
mandate any particular method of identifying ineligible voters. State law, however, provides
several methods for elections officials to confirm registrants' addresses in compliance with
NVRA requirements, as described below.
6
Some of these methods to confirm addresses may result in elections officials placing a
voter’s registration on inactive status, as described below. Under California law, voters
with an inactive status are not mailed election materials, and they are not taken into
consideration in determining the number of signatures required for qualification of
candidates or ballot measures, precinct size, or other election administration processes.
(Elec. Code, § 2226(a)(2).)
6
In addition to the residency confirmation procedures provided in Elections Code sections 2220- 2226 and
set forth in this Section, the Secretary of State receives and sends on to county elections officials change-of-
address information from specific transactions at the DMV. (See Chapter 2, Voter Registration at
Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).)
Chapter 4 – page 6
The Secretary of State strongly recommends
7
that a list of inactive voters, in addition to
the required list of active voters, be provided to each polling place in the county. (Elec.
Code, §§ 349.5, 359, 359.2, 2183, 2191, 2226(c).) If the county elections official provides a
list of inactive voters to the polling place and an inactive voter offers/appears to vote and is
on the list, the voter shall be provided a nonprovisional ballot to vote. If the county
elections official does not provide a list of inactive voters to the polling place or if a list is
provided, but the inactive voter is not on the list and the inactive voter offers/appears to
vote, the voter shall be provided an opportunity to vote provisionally. (Elec. Code, §§
2170, 14310.)
A. Voter Notification Card (VNC)
As described in Section III above, “Notification of Disposition of Voter Registration
Application: Voter Notification Card,” California law requires a Voter Notification
Card (VNC) to be sent to each voter registration applicant who submits a properly
executed and complete voter registration application, including a reregistration and
a change of mailing address. (Elec. Code, §§ 2155, 2155.3.) Additionally, county
elections officials must also send VNCs upon the receipt of an address correction
notice or letter responding to a mailing under Elections Code section 2119, Article 2
(commencing with Section 2220), or the NVRA.
8
(Elec. Code, § 2155.)
The purpose of the VNC is two-fold: (a) to notify the applicant that they are
registered to vote, and (b) to confirm the voter’s address and voter preference
information. (Elec. Code, § 2155.) The voter notification shall state the party
preference for which the voter has registered in the following format: “Party: (Name
of political party).”
VNC cards are non-forwardable, first-class mail sent to the residence address listed
on the voter’s registration application, unless a separate mailing address has been
provided. The post office provides updated information if the VNC cannot be
delivered as addressed but does not forward it to the addressee.
A voter’s voter registration will remain active even if the voter does not respond to a
VNC.
If a voter replies to a VNC with an address change within their county, the county
elections official shall update the voter’s registration record and send a VNC to the
new address. If the voter replies with a residence address change in another
county, the county elections official of the former county shall alert the county
7
At least one federal district court has found that the failure to provide a list of inactive voters at all polling
locations violates the fundamental right to vote. (See, Common Cause N.Y. v. Brehm, et al. (Jan. 10, 2020)
No. 17-CV-06770.)
8
This includes voter registration applications and change-of-address information received from specific
transactions at the DMV. (See Chapter 2, Voter Registration at Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).)
Chapter 4 – page 7
elections official associated with the new residence address through use of the
statewide voter registration system (in the statewide voter registration system this is
known as the “push voter” function); the county elections official associated with the
voter’s new residence address shall send a new VNC to the new address. (Elec.
Code, §§ 2119, 2120, 2155, 2226(a)(1); 52 U.S.C. § 20507(d)(3), (f); see also
Section V, “Address Confirmation Notices; Updating, Inactivating, and Cancelling
Voter Registration Records.”)
If a VNC is returned by the post office, it will be treated as a notice of change of
address and subsequently, a forwardable address confirmation mailing will be sent
to the voter.
If the address change is to an address in the same county, the county
elections official shall update the voter’s registration record and send an
address confirmation mailing that complies with Elections Code section
2225(b) to the new address.
If the address change is in another county, the county elections official of the
former county shall alert the county elections official associated with the new
residence address through use of the statewide voter registration system (in
the statewide voter registration system this is known as the “push voter”
function); the county elections official associated with the voter’s new
residence address shall send an address confirmation mailing that complies
with Elections Code section 2225(b) to the new address.
If the address change is to another state, if there is no forwarding address,
or a returned mailing indicates that the voter does not live at that address,
the county elections official shall update the voter’s registration record to
inactive and send a confirmation mailing that complies with Elections Code
section 2225(c)/Section 8(d)(2).
(See Elec. Code, §§ 2225, 2226; 52 U.S.C. § 20507(c)(1)(B), (d)(2); see also
Section V, “Address Confirmation Notices; Updating, Inactivating, and Cancelling
Voter Registration Records”; a diagram related to this and other mailings is
attached as Appendix E.)
B. Preelection Residency Confirmation Postcard
California law also requires county elections officials to conduct a residency
confirmation procedure at least 90 days before the direct primary election. (Elec.
Code, § 2220(a).) This confirmation is initiated by mailing a non- forwardable
postcard, sent “Address Correction Requested, Return Postage Guaranteed,” to
each registered voter of the county prior to a direct primary election. The postcard
must be in substantially the following form:
Chapter 4 – page 8
We are requesting your assistance in correcting the addresses of voters who
have moved and have not reregistered.
1. If you still live at the address noted on this postcard, your voter
registration will remain in effect and you may disregard this notice.
2. If the person named on this postcard is not at this address, please
return this postcard to your mail carrier.
(Elec. Code, § 2220(a).) (This language is also found in Appendix D,
Recommended Language for List Maintenance Mailings; a diagram related to this
and other mailings is attached as Appendix E.) The county elections official is not
required to mail a preelection residency confirmation postcard to any voter who has
voted at an election in the last six (6) months or to any person who will not be 18
years of age on or before the direct primary election. (Elec. Code, § 2220(b).)
A voter’s voter registration will remain active even if the voter does not respond to a
preelection residency confirmation postcard.
If a voter replies to a preelection residency confirmation postcard with an address
change within their county, the county elections official shall update the voter’s
registration record and send a VNC to the new address. If the voter replies to a
preelection residency confirmation postcard with a residence address change in
another county, the county elections official of the former county shall alert the
county elections official associated with the new residence address through use of
the statewide voter registration system (in the statewide voter registration system
this is known as the “push voter” function); the county elections official associated
with the voter’s new residence address shall send a VNC to the new address.
(Elec. Code, §§ 2119, 2120, 2155, 2226(a)(1); 52 U.S.C. § 20507(d)(3), (f); see
also Section V, “Address Confirmation Notices; Updating, Inactivating, and
Cancelling Voter Registration Records.”)
If a preelection residency confirmation postcard is returned by the post office, it will
be treated as a notice of change of address and subsequently, a forwardable
address confirmation mailing shall be sent to the voter, as specified in Elections
Code section 2221(a).
If the address change is to an address in the same county, the county
elections official shall update the voter’s registration record and send an
address confirmation mailing that complies with Elections Code section
2225(b) to the new address.
If the address change is in another county, the county elections official of the
former county shall alert the county elections official associated with the new
residence address through use of the statewide voter registration system (in
the statewide voter registration system this is known as the “push voter”
function); the county elections official associated with the voter’s new
Chapter 4 – page 9
residence address shall send an address confirmation mailing that complies
with Elections Code section 2225(b) to the new address.
If the address change is to another state, if there is no forwarding address, if
it is returned by the post office as undeliverable, or if a returned mailing
indicates that the voter is not at that address, the county elections official
shall update the voter’s registration record to inactive and send a
confirmation mailing that complies with Elections Code section
2225(c)/Section 8(d)(2).
(See Elec. Code, §§ 2221(a), 2225, 2226; 52 U.S.C. § 20507(c)(1)(B), (d)(2); see
also Section V, “Address Confirmation Notices; Updating, Inactivating, and
Cancelling Voter Registration Records.”)
As an alternative to the preelection residency confirmation postcard, county
elections officials may use any of the following methods:
1. National Change of Address System (NCOA) Data
In California, the Secretary of State obtains National Change of Address
System (NCOA) data from the California Employment Development
Department and forwards the information to the county elections officials
through the statewide voter registration system. (Elec. Code, § 2222; 52
U.S.C. § 20507(c)(1)(A).)
If the NCOA data indicates a change of address, it shall be treated as a
notice of change of residence and subsequently, a forwardable address
confirmation mailing shall be sent to the voter.
If the address change is to an address in the same county, the county
elections official shall update the voter’s registration record and send
an address confirmation mailing that complies with Elections Code
section 2225(b) to the new address.
If the address change is in another county, the county elections
official of the former county shall alert the county elections official
associated with the new residence address through use of the
statewide voter registration system (in the statewide voter registration
system this is known as the “push voter” function); the county
elections official associated with the voter’s new residence address
shall send an address confirmation mailing that complies with
Elections Code section 2225(b) to the new address.
If the address change is to another state or if there is no forwarding
address, the county elections official shall update the voter’s
registration record to inactive and send a confirmation mailing that
complies with Elections Code section 2225(c)/Section 8(d)(2).
Chapter 4 – page 10
(See Elec. Code, §§ 2225, 2226; 52 U.S.C. § 20507(c)(1)(B), (d)(2); see
also Section V, “Address Confirmation Notices; Updating, Inactivating, and
Cancelling Voter Registration Records.”)
2. County Voter Information Guide
County elections officials may include the return address of the county
elections official’s office on the outside portion of the county voter
information guide or envelope mailed to the voter for an election conducted
within the last six (6) months preceding the start of the confirmation process,
along with the following statement:
Address Correction Requested and Notice:
If the person named on the county voter information guide is not at
the address, please help keep the voter rolls current and save
taxpayer dollars by returning this county voter information guide to
your mail carrier.
(Elec. Code, § 2223; this language is also found in Appendix D,
Recommended Language for List Maintenance Mailings; a diagram
related to this and other mailings is attached as Appendix E.)
If the results of these efforts indicate a change of address from a physical
mail back or an Address Change Service (ACS) electronic file, it will be
treated as a notice of change of address and subsequently, a forwardable
address confirmation mailing will be sent to the voter.
If the address change is to an address in the same county, the county
elections official shall update the voter’s registration record and send
an address confirmation mailing that complies with Elections Code
section 2225(b) to the new address.
If the residence address change is in another county, the county
elections official of the former county shall alert the county elections
official associated with the new residence address through use of the
statewide voter registration system (in the statewide voter registration
system this is known as the “push voter” function); the county
elections official associated with the voter’s new residence address
shall send an address confirmation mailing that complies with
Elections Code section 2225(b) to the new address.
If the address change is to another state, if there is no forwarding
address, if this mailing is returned by the post office as undeliverable,
if the ACS file indicates that the mailing is undeliverable, or if a
returned mailing indicates that the voter is not at that address, the
county elections official shall update the voter’s registration record to
Chapter 4 – page 11
inactive and send a confirmation mailing that complies with Elections
Code section 2225(c)/Section 8(d)(2).
(See Elec. Code, §§ 2225, 2226; 52 U.S.C. § 20507(c)(1)(B), (d)(2); see
also Section V, “Address Confirmation Notices; Updating, Inactivating, and
Cancelling Voter Registration Records.”)
3. Consumer Credit Reporting Agency
County elections officials may contract with a consumer credit reporting
agency or its licensees to obtain use of change-of-address data. (Elec.
Code, § 2227.) If the results of these efforts indicate a change of address,
the county elections official shall send a forwardable notice, including a
postage-paid and preaddressed return form, which may be in the form of a
postcard, to the registered voter to enable the voter to verify or correct
address information. The forwardable notice shall be in substantially the
following form:
We have received notification that you have moved to a new
residence address in County. You will remain registered to vote at
your old address unless you notify our office that the address to which
this card was mailed is a change of your permanent residence.
Please notify our office in writing by returning the attached postage-
paid postcard. If this is not a permanent residence, and you do not
wish to change your address for voting purposes, please disregard
this notice.
(This language is also found in Appendix D, Recommended Language for
List Maintenance Mailings; a diagram related to this and other mailings is
attached as Appendix E.) The results of this mailing can only be used to
update a voter’s record or confirm their address. A voter’s registration record
cannot be changed to inactive status or cancelled for failure to respond to
this postcard or if the postcard is returned as undeliverable. (Elec. Code, §
2227(f).) To initiate the inactivation or cancellation process, a different
residency confirmation procedure must be used. (See, e.g., Elec. Code, §§
2220-2226.)
C. Alternative Residency Confirmation (ARC) Postcard
The procedure for sending alternative residency confirmation (ARC) postcards was
found in Elections Code section 2224. Assembly Bill (AB) 504 (“AB 504”) (Berman)
Chapter 262, Statutes of 2019, provides that Section 2224 became inoperative on
January 1, 2020.
Chapter 4 – page 12
If elections officials had used the ARC postcard process, it could only lead to
cancellation if the county elections official received as a result of the ARC postcard
information or a notification that the voter no longer resides in California, and then
sent the voter a forwardable address confirmation notice that complies with Section
8(d)(2) of the NVRA. (See Section V, “Address Confirmation Notices; Updating,
Inactivating, and Cancelling Voter Registration Records.”)9
For voters who have an “inactive” voter registration status as the result of having
been mailed an ARC postcard, the county elections official “shall” send a
forwardable address verification mailing, as set forth in subdivision (c) of Section
2225. The voter registration record of a voter who fails to respond to the address
verification mailing, and who does not offer to vote or vote at any election between
the date of the mailing described in Section 2225 and two federal general elections
after the date of that mailing, shall be canceled. (Elec. Code, § 2226(a)(3); see
Section V, “Address Confirmation Notices; Updating, Inactivating, and Cancelling
Voter Registration Records.”)
V. Address Confirmation Notices; Updating and Inactivating Voter Records
If county elections officials receive information indicating that a voter has moved to a new
address, county elections officials send address confirmation notices as provided in
California law and in NVRA Section 8(d)(2), as described below. (Elec. Code, §§ 2155,
2225, 2226; 52 U.S.C. § 20507(c), (d) and (f).) This information may be received from the
voter directly, NCOA information, as well as in response to VNCs, preelection residency
confirmation postcards, or county voter information guides. (Elec. Code, §§ 2155, 2155.3,
2220, 2222, 2223, 2225.)
The address confirmation process may ultimately result in cancellation of a voter
registration record.
10
Cancellation of a voter registration record because of a change of
address requires compliance with the address confirmation process outlined below, in
accordance with NVRA Section 8(d)(2). Thus, all address confirmation notices sent to
registrants who are believed to have moved out-of- state, have no forwarding address, or
have mail returned as undeliverable with no forwarding address, must comply with Section
8(d)(2) in order for those registrations to be cancelled. (Elec. Code, § 2225(c).)
9
The Stipulated Order in Wilson v. United States of America, is no longer applicable as it has since been
superseded by legislative amendments.
10
Under Section 8 of the NVRA and California law, a voter registration record may be cancelled for a
variety of reasons, such as: by written request from the voter, because of death or the voter has been found
to be mentally incompetent to vote, because the voter is serving a state or federal prison term for the
conviction of a felony, or following the process established in California law and in NVRA Section 8(d)(2),
described below, for voters who have moved to a new address. (Elec. Code, § 2201; 52 U.S.C. §
20507(a)(3), (4).) Additional reasons for cancellation in California are: by court order, upon notification the
voter is registered in another state, or upon proof that the person is ineligible to vote. (Elec. Code, § 2201.)
Cancelled registration records may be disposed of after five (5) years. (Elec. Code, § 17000.)
Chapter 4 – page 13
A. Address Confirmation Notices Sent for In-State Moves
If a county elections official receives a mailing from the voter indicating the voter
has moved to:
• a new address in the same county in which the voter is currently
registered, it will be treated as a notice of change of address. The county
elections official immediately shall update the registration record to show the
new address and send a VNC. (Elec. Code, § 2155.)
• a new residence address in another county within California, it will be
treated as a notice of change of address. The county elections official in receipt of
the change-of-address information shall not remove the voter as an active voter
from their county, but instead immediately shall alert the county elections official
associated with the new residence address about the voter’s new residence
address through use of the statewide voter registration system (in the statewide
voter registration system this is known as the “push voter” function); the county
elections official associated with the voter’s new residence address shall send a
VNC to the new address. (Elec. Code, § 2155.)
If a county elections official receives a mailing returned by the post office with, or
NCOA data indicating a voter has moved to:
• a forwarding or new address in the same county in which the voter is
currently registered, it will be treated as a notice of change of address. The
county elections official immediately shall update the registration record to show
the new address and send a forwardable mail notice of the address change and a
postage paid, pre-addressed return form for the voter to verify or correct the
address information, as described in Elections Code section 2225(b). (Elec.
Code, §§ 2222, 2225(b), 2226(a)(1); 52 U.S.C. § 20507(c)(1)(B)(i), (d)(3), (f).)
• a forwarding or new residence address in another county within
California, it will be treated as a notice of change of address. The county
elections official in receipt of the change-of-address information shall not
remove the voter as an active voter from their county, but instead immediately
shall alert the county elections official associated with the new residence
address about the voter’s new residence address through use of the statewide
voter registration system (in the statewide voter registration system this is
known as the “push voter” function); the county elections official associated with
the new residence address must send a forwardable mail notice of the address
change and a postage paid, pre-addressed return form enabling the voter to
verify or correct the address information, as described in Elections Code section
2225(b). (Elec. Code, §§ 2222, 2225(b), 2226(a)(1); 52 U.S.C. §
20507(c)(1)(B)(i), (d)(3).)
Chapter 4 – page 14
For these in-state moves, Elections Code section 2225(b) prescribes that the
language of the forwardable mail notice:
We have received notification that you have moved to a new residence
address in California. Your voter registration record has been updated to this
new address. If this is correct, you do not have to take any action. If this is
incorrect, you can notify our office by either returning the attached postage-
paid postcard, or by calling toll free; you must notify us at least 15 days prior
to the next election or you may be required to vote using a provisional ballot.
(This language is found in Appendix D, Recommended Language for List
Maintenance Mailings; a diagram related to this and other mailings is
attached as Appendix E.) A voter with an active voter status and a new valid
address within California should not be placed on inactive status and should
not be subject to cancellation. Such a voter should not receive a Section 8(d)(2)
notice. (Elec. Code, § 2225(e).)
B. Address Confirmation Notices Sent for Out-of-State Moves
If a county elections official receives a mailing from the voter indicating the voter
has moved out of state, no address confirmation notice is required to be sent.
Instead, the county elections official shall cancel the voter’s record and send the
required notification to the voter regarding the cancellation of the voter’s record.
(Elec. Code, § 2201(a); Cal. Code Regs., tit. 2, § 20070.)
If a mailing is returned by the post office with a forwarding address outside
California, or if NCOA data indicates a voter has moved outside California,
these should be treated as notices of change of address. The county elections
official must send a forwardable address confirmation mailing to the voter. Upon the
sending of this mail notice, the county elections official shall update the voter’s
record to “inactive.” This mail notice must comply with the requirements of Section
8(d)(2), in order to initiate the cancellation process. (Elec. Code, §§ 2221(a)(1),
2225(c), (f); 52 U.S.C. § 20507(c)(1)(A), (B)(ii), (d)(1), (2)(A), (B), (3).)
The 8(d)(2) notice must be provide a postage paid, pre-addressed return form for
the voter to state their current address, and must explain that: (1) if the registrant
did not change their residence, or changed residence within California, the
registrant should return the card not later than 15 days prior to the date of the next
election; (2) that if the card is not returned, affirmation or confirmation of the
registrant's address may be required before the registrant is permitted to vote in an
election during the period beginning on the date of the notice and ending on the
day after the date of the second general election for Federal office that occurs after
the date of the notice; (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; and (4)
if the registrant has changed residence to a place outside of California, the notice
must include information concerning how the voter can continue to be eligible to
vote. For example, information can be provided regarding the National Mail Voter
Chapter 4 – page 15
Registration Form, which can be downloaded at:
https://www.eac.gov/voters/national-mail-voter-registration- form/. (52 U.S.C. §
20507(d)(2); see Husted v. A. Philip Randolph Institute, 138 S. Ct. 1833 (2018)
attached as Appendix F.)
(Suggested language and format for 8(d)(2) notices is also found in Appendix D,
Recommended Language for List Maintenance Mailings; a diagram related to this
and other mailings is attached as Appendix E.)
C. Address Confirmation Notices Sent If No Forwarding Address
State law provides that notification received through NCOA or Operation Mail that
a voter has moved and has not given a forwarding address requires the mailing
of a forwardable notice to the voter. (Elec. Code, § 2225(a)(2).)
If a mailing is returned by the post office as undeliverable and with no
forwarding address, in order to begin the cancellation process, the county
elections official must send to the voter at that same address a forwardable
address confirmation mailing that complies with Elections Code section 2225(c)
(which refers to Section 8(d)(2) of the NVRA).
Upon the sending of this mail notice, the county elections official shall update the
voter’s record to “inactive.” (Elec. Code, §§ 2221(a)(1), 2225(c), (f); 52 U.S.C. §
20507(d)(2)(A), (3).)
D. Updating or Inactivating Registrations Based on Responses to
Address Confirmation Notices
If in response to any of the address confirmation notices described above (under
Elections Code section 2225(b) or pursuant to Section 8(d)(2) of the NVRA), the
voter provides written confirmation of a change of address to a new residence
address in California, the county elections official immediately shall alert the
county elections official associated with the new residence address about the
voter’s new residence address through use of the statewide voter registration
system (in the statewide voter registration system this is known as the “push voter”
function); the county elections official associated with the voter’s new residence
address shall then send a VNC to the new address to confirm the change in
registration. (Elec. Code, §§ 2155, 2226(a)(1).)
1. Elections Code Section 2225(b)
If a voter does not return an address confirmation notice sent in
accordance with Elections Code section 2225(b), the voter’s status shall
remain active.
If an address confirmation notice sent pursuant to Elections Code section
2225(b) is returned as undeliverable, in order to initiate the cancellation
process, a forwardable address confirmation notice that complies with
Chapter 4 – page 16
_______________________
Section 8(d)(2) of the NVRA must then be mailed to the voter, and the
voter’s status shall be changed to inactive. (Elec. Code, §§ 2225(c), (f),
2226(a)(2).)
2. Elections Code Section 2225(c)/Section 8(d)(2) of the NVRA
If a voter does not return an address confirmation notice sent in
accordance with Elections Code section 2225(c)/Section 8(d)(2) of the
NVRA, the voter’s status shall remain inactive. In accordance with NVRA
section 8(d)(2), should the voter contact the county elections official at least
15 days prior to the next election, the county elections official will update the
voter’s voter registration record to that of active. (Elec. Code, § 2225(c).)
If an address confirmation notice sent pursuant to Elections Code section
2225(c)/Section 8(d)(2) of the NVRA is returned as undeliverable, the
voter’s status remains as inactive.
If, on or before the second general election for federal office after the
address confirmation notice is sent, a voter with inactive status has not
moved to a different state and (1) offers to vote in any election,
11
or (2)
notifies the county elections official of continued residency, the county
elections official shall restore the voter’s status to active. (Elec. Code, §
2226(c); 52 U.S.C. § 20507(e).)
VI. Cancellation of Voter Registration Records
A. Voter Registration in General is Permanent Unless it is Cancelled
The registration of a voter is permanent for all purposes during their life, unless and
until the voter's registration record is cancelled by the Secretary of State or the
county elections official for any of the causes specified in Elections Code section
2201, et seq. (Elec. Code, § 2200.)
B. When Voter Registration Records are to be Cancelled Pursuant to State
Law
Pursuant to Elections Code section 2201:
1. County elections officials shall cancel voter registration records in
the following cases:
• At the signed, written request of the person registered.
11
The following is a non-exhaustive list of examples of offering to vote: interactions with county elections
official relating to the voter’s registration record and voting provisionally.
Chapter 4 – page 17
• When the mental incompetency of the person registered is legally
established as provided in Sections 2208, 2209, 2210, and 2211.
• Upon proof that the person is presently imprisoned for conviction of a
felony.
• Upon the production of a certified copy of a judgment directing the
cancellation to be made.
• Upon the death of the person registered.
• Pursuant to Section 2220 et seq.
• Upon official notification that the voter is registered to vote in another
state.
• Upon proof that the person is otherwise ineligible to vote.
2. The Secretary of State may cancel voter registration records in the
following cases:
• When the mental incompetency of the person registered is legally
established as provided in Sections 2208, 2209, 2210, and 2211.
• Upon proof that the person is presently imprisoned for the conviction
of a felony.
• Upon the death of the person registered.
C. Precancellation and Cancellation of Voter Registrations for Specific
Reasons
1. Precancellation
State law requires county elections officials to notify voters before cancelling
their registration for these specific reasons: mental incompetency, felony,
death, and certain changes of address.
The notice must include a postage-paid and preaddressed return form for
these voters to indicate their eligibility to vote, if they believe the cancellation
is in error. State law provides the language for the notice and the return
form. (Elec. Code, § 2201(c)(1), (2).)
Chapter 4 – page 18
2. Cancellation
a. Mental Incapacity
The superior court of each county must provide notice to the
Secretary of State of all court orders regarding any person’s
competency to vote, along with identifying information for the affected
persons. (Elec. Code, § 2211.5(a)(1).)
The Secretary of State compares the identifying information received
with the statewide voter registration system and provides county
elections officials with cancellation and restoration information
regarding any matched registration records. (Elec. Code, §
2211.5(d).)
If a voter has been disqualified to vote by the court, the county
elections officials must cancel the voter’s registration record.
However, the county elections official first must notify the voter 15 to
30 days before cancelling their registration, and then, if the voter does
not respond to the precancellation notice, update the voter’s
registration record to reflect that the registration is cancelled.
b. Imprisoned for Conviction of a Felony
The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) must
provide to the Secretary of State, on a weekly basis, specified
identifying information for persons who have been imprisoned for the
conviction of a felony and are under CDCR’s jurisdiction. (Elec. Code,
§ 2212(b)(1).)
The Secretary of State is required to compare the identifying
information received from CDCR with the statewide voter registration
system and to provide county elections officials with information
regarding any matching voter registration records within three days of
receipt of the information from CDCR. (Elec. Code, § 2212(d).)
Upon receipt of this information, the county elections officials must
cancel the voter’s registration record. However, the county elections
official first must notify the voter 15 to 30 days before cancelling their
registration, and then, if the voter does not respond to the
precancellation notice, update the voter’s registration record to reflect
that the registration is cancelled. (Elec. Code, § 2212(e)(1).)
c. Death
The Secretary of State receives a weekly data file from the California
Department of Public Health (CDPH). This data is processed through
the statewide voter registration system to generate Potential
Chapter 4 – page 19
Deceased Match messages, which are then automatically sent to the
county’s Election Management System (EMS).
Currently, as of the date of this revision to the manual, counties
review messages to make a match determination; if a match is made,
the voter registration record is automatically cancelled in the
statewide voter registration system. (Elec. Code, § 2201(a)(5).) This
is an automated process, and there is no way to delay the
cancellation once a Potential Deceased Match message has been
determined.
Until the statewide voter registration system is modified, counties will
need to send a notice that the registration “has been cancelled”
instead of “will be cancelled”.
d. 8d2 Cards: Cancelling After Two General Federal Elections
If a voter fails to return an address confirmation notice, sent in
accordance with Section 8(d)(2) as set forth above, does not offer or
appear to vote in any election within the next two federal general
election cycles following the mailing of that notice; and does not notify
a county elections official of continued residency within California,12
the county elections official must cancel the voter’s registration
record. However, the county elections official first must notify the
voter 15 to 30 days before cancelling their registration, and then, if the
voter does not respond to the precancellation notice, update the
voter’s registration record to reflect that the registration is cancelled.
(Elec. Code, §§ 2225(c), 2226(b); 52 U.S.C. §§ 21803(a)(4)(A),
20507(a)(4), (d)(3); see Husted v. A. Philip Randolph Institute,
attached as Appendix F.)
12
This notification to a county elections official may be made directly by the voter, or through a voter
registration application or change-of-address information received from specific transactions at the DMV.
(See Chapter 2, Voter Registration at Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).)
Chapter 4 – page 20
Chapter 5 – page i
Chapter 5
Provisional Voting
Table of Contents
I. California Law and Provisional Voting .................................................................. 1
II. NVRA “Fail Safe” Voting Requirements ................................................................ 2
III. The Help America Vote Act (HAVA) and Provisional Voting ................................. 2
IV. When Do Voters Cast a Provisional Ballot? ......................................................... 2
Chapter 5 – page 1
I. California Law and Provisional Voting
California law provides that any voter claiming to be properly registered, but
whose qualifications cannot be immediately established upon examination of the
list of registered voters for the precinct or the records on file with the county
elections official, is entitled to cast a provisional ballot. (Elec. Code, §§ 2300,
14310(a).)
The county elections official must advise voters of their right to cast a provisional
ballot and must provide the voter with written instructions regarding the
provisional voting process and procedures. State law requires people who vote a
provisional ballot to execute, in the presence of the county elections official, a
written affirmation, stating that they are eligible to vote and are registered in the
county where they desire to vote. (Elec. Code, § 14310(a).)
Additionally, vote-by-mail voters shall be issued provisional ballots if: 1) they are
unable to surrender their vote-by-mail ballot and the precinct board, vote center
election board, or elections official cannot verify if the voters have returned their
voted vote-by-mail ballot, and notate the voters’ voter record accordingly or 2)
they are unable to surrender their vote-by-mail ballot and the precinct board or
elections official cannot readily determine if the voters are in the correct polling
location. (Elec. Code, §§ 3016, 14310.)
Provisional ballot envelopes are delivered, along with regular ballots, to the
county elections office canvassing area. Using the same procedures as used
with vote-by-mail envelopes, the county elections official compares the signature
for the provisional ballot with the signature on that voter’s affidavit of registration.
(Elections Code, § 3019.) If the signature does not match, the county elections
official must follow specified procedures to notify the voter and allow the voter an
opportunity to verify his or her signature before certification of the election. If the
signature matches, the county elections official checks the voter registration
database to verify whether the voter is properly registered to vote. Once the
signature on the envelope has been verified and the voter’s registration is
confirmed, the ballot is separated from the envelope and counted as a regular
ballot. Only the votes for contests for which the voter is eligible to vote are
counted. If the voter’s registration cannot be confirmed, the ballot is not counted,
and the reason for not counting the ballot is recorded; however, beginning in
2019, by virtue of completing a provisional ballot envelope, voters may be
registered for future elections. (Elec. Code, § 2160.)
Similar to HAVA, California law also requires the establishment of a Free Access
System so the voter can find out if his or her provisional ballot has been counted.
(Elec. Code, § 14310(d).) Information about how to access each county’s Free
Access System can be found on the Secretary of State’s website at:
www.sos.ca.gov/elections/ballot-status/.
Chapter 5 – page 2
Finally, California law provides that voters who have moved from one address to
another within the same county and who have not notified the county elections
official of their new address may vote provisionally on the day of the election at
the polling place at which they are entitled to vote based on their new address, or
at the county elections office, or at another central location designated by the
elections office. (Elec. Code, § 14311.) As an alternative, conditional voter
registration (CVR) and CVR provisional voting are available at all permanent
offices of the county elections official, all vote centers, and designated satellite
offices, which can include polling places if in compliance with Section 20023(d) of
the California Code of Regulations. (Elec. Code, § 2170.)
California’s provisional voting laws effectively comply with and compliment the
NVRA “fail safe” protections and the HAVA provisional voting statutes.
II. NVRA “Fail Safe” Voting Requirements
Section 8
1
of the NVRA contains protections for voters that allow an eligible
registered voter to cast a provisional ballot in California, if: 1) the voter has been
placed on the inactive list or; 2) the voter moved to a new address inside the
county but did not notify the county elections office before the election. The
NVRA requires elections officials must allow these voters to update their
registration and vote in the election using a provisional ballot envelope process.
California law has provided for provisional voting since 1984 and meets the
NVRA fail safe voting requirements.
III. The Help America Vote Act (HAVA) and Provisional Voting
Provisional voting is also mandated under the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of
2002. Similar to the NVRA “fail safe” protections, provisional voting under HAVA
is intended to prevent disenfranchisement of otherwise eligible voters due to
voter registration errors or other unusual circumstances. HAVA requires
provisional voting to be offered to voters when the voter's name does not appear
on the roster or when the voter is required to provide identification under HAVA
and is unable to provide identification. During the canvass period following each
election, elections officials verify eligibility and registration before counting each
provisional ballot. California law meets the HAVA provisional voting
requirements.
IV. When Do Voters Cast a Provisional Ballot?
In counties that do not conduct elections using vote centers (see Elections Code
section 4005), below are some of the common situations when a voter will need
to cast a provisional ballot rather than a regular ballot:
1
Throughout this chapter, “Section 8” refers to 52 U.S.C. § 20507.
Chapter 5 – page 3
• The voter moved but did not update his or her voter registration record to
reflect the move;
• The voter’s name does not appear on the list of registered voters and the
eligibility to vote cannot be verified at the polling place;
• The voter’s name (unless it is a changed surname) or address is different
than that listed on the roster lists;
• The voter is required to provide identification under HAVA and is unable or
refuses to provide proof of identity. Under HAVA, first-time voters who
registered by mail – and for whom neither the social security number nor
state identification number could be verified – may be required to provide
proof of identity;
• The voter requested a vote-by-mail ballot, but cannot surrender his or her
vote-by-mail ballot, AND your location cannot verify if the voter has
already returned his or her voted vote-by-mail ballot, and cannot notate
the voter’s voter record accordingly;
• The voter is voting during polling place hours that have been extended by
a state or federal court;
• The voter is registered to vote, but is attempting to vote in a precinct
different from the one in which the voter is registered or assigned (this
does not apply in counties that conduct elections using vote centers); or
• The voter is challenged and the challenge is not resolved in his or her
favor.
In order to vote provisionally, the voter must sign a written affirmation of eligibility
and registration on the provisional ballot envelope. After Election Day, county
elections officials verify each provisional voter’s registration and eligibility to vote
and then count provisional ballots.
At the time a voter casts a provisional ballot, the elections official provides the
voter with written information on how the voter can check whether his or her
provisional ballot was counted. This can include visiting the Secretary of State’s
My Voter Status tool following the completion of the canvass.
Chapter 6 – page i
Chapter 6
Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements
Table of Contents
I. Overview ...............................................................................................................1
II. Information Collected and Reported ......................................................................1
III. Tracking and Reporting Registrations at Voter Registration Agency Offices .........3
IV. Information Maintained and Disclosed to the Public ..............................................4
V. Additional Information ............................................................................................4
Chapter 6 – page 1
I. Overview
Section 8
1
of the NVRA requires states to keep and make available for public inspection
for a period of two years, all records concerning the implementation of accurate and
current voter registration lists. However, the NVRA requires records relating to a
person’s decision not to register to vote or the specific agency through which a person
registered to vote to be kept confidential.
The records each state keeps under the NVRA must include lists of the names and
addresses of voters who are sent confirmation notices and whether or not each voter
responded to the confirmation notice.
Under the NVRA, as originally passed by Congress, states had reporting responsibilities
to the Federal Elections Commission, which in turn reported biennially to Congress on
the impact of the NVRA. With the passage of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of
2002, these reporting responsibilities were transferred from the Federal Election
Commission to the United States Election Assistance Commission (EAC).
In order to meet its Congressional reporting responsibilities, the EAC has developed a
state survey and requires the Secretary of State’s office to submit its statewide report by
March 31
st
of each odd-numbered year. The EAC survey gathers data on the number
of voter registration applications by mail from motor vehicle offices, public assistance
offices, offices providing state-funded programs primarily serving people with
disabilities, Armed Forces recruitment offices, and other offices designated by states
under the NVRA as voter registration agencies. States also report voter registration list
maintenance information in response to the EAC survey every two years.
II. Information Collected and Reported
Federal regulations require the information below to be included in state reports to the
EAC. The Secretary of State gathers this information from the counties and compiles
one comprehensive report for the state of California. California’s biennial reports to the
EAC are found on the Secretary of State’s website at www.sos.ca.gov/elections/voter-
registration/nvra/reports/. Some of the categories of reporting include:
A. The total number of registered voters statewide, including both active and
inactive voters, in the federal general election two years prior to the most recent
federal general election. HAVA requires that both are reported for those states
that make a distinction between active and inactive voters.
B. The total number of registered voters statewide, including both active and
inactive voters, in the most recent federal election.
C. The total number of new valid registrations accepted between the past two
federal general elections, including all registrations that are new to the county
1
Throughout this chapter, “Section 8” refers to 52 U.S.C. § 20507.
Chapter 6 – page 2
and re-registrations across county lines, but excluding all applications that are
duplicates, rejected, or report only a change of name, address, or party
preference within the same jurisdiction.
D. The total number of registrants that were considered inactive at the close of the
most recent federal general election.
County elections officials report to the Secretary of State the total number of
voters who remain on the inactive section of the voter roll after the federal
general election preceding their report. For example, this would be the number
of voters in the inactive portion of the voter roll after re-activation of those inactive
voters who voted a provisional ballot in that federal general election. (See
Chapter 5 on provisional voting.)
E. The total number of registrations that were cancelled from the registration list,
including both active and inactive voters between the past two federal general
elections.
County elections officials report to the Secretary of State the total number of
voters removed from the voter rolls for any of the following reasons:
1. Death;
2. Currently serving a state or federal prison term for the conviction of a
felony;
3. Currently found to be mentally incompetent to vote by a court;
4. Moved outside the state;
5. Direct notice by the voter to the elections office, DMV, or other agency
regarding a change of address outside the state or requesting removal
from the voter roll; or
6. NVRA Section 8(d)(2) notice and removal process. (See Chapter 4 on list
maintenance.)
F. The number of registration applications received (regardless of whether they
were valid, rejected, duplicative, or indicated address, name or party preference
changes) from or generated by each of the following categories:
1. Mailed VRCs - County elections officials report to the Secretary of State the
number of Voter Registration Cards (VRC) from applicants residing in the
county. The total number includes those VRCs forwarded from other county
elections offices and the Secretary of State. This number does not include
VRCs generated by the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) or other NVRA-
designated voter registration agencies (VRAs).
2. In-person
3. Internet (via California’s Online Voter Registration Application)
Chapter 6 – page 3
4. DMV - County elections officials report voter registrations received through
DMV (See Chapter 2 for information on voter registrations completed at
DMV.)
5. Public Assistance Agencies (See Chapter 3 for listing of these VRAs.)
6. State-Funded Agencies Primarily Serving Persons with Disabilities (See
Chapter 3 for listing of these VRAs.)
7. Armed Forces Recruitment Offices
8. Other Agencies Designated by the State under NVRA
• Franchise Tax Board offices
• Department of Tax and Fees Administration offices
G. The total number of duplicate registration applications received between the past
two federal general elections in the appropriate elections office broken down by
category.
For NVRA purposes, “duplicate” registration application means a VRC from a
person already registered to vote at the same address, under the same name,
and with the same political party preference.
H. The number of confirmation notices mailed out between the past two federal
general elections and the number of responses received to these notices during
the same period. (See Chapter 4 on list maintenance.)
III. Tracking and Reporting Registrations at Voter Registration Agency Offices
A. County elections officials distribute VRCs to the Voter Registration Agency (VRA)
Offices. (Elec. Code, § 2405(b)(1).)
B. County elections officials are responsible for tracking ranges of the serial
numbers on the VRCs assigned to each VRA office. (Elec. Code, § 2405(b)(2).)
The VRAs, in turn, may want to track which batch they provide to each of their
programs or sites.
C. County elections officials track the number of these completed cards that are
returned from each VRA office and report those numbers to the Secretary of
State’s office on a monthly basis. (Elec. Code, §§ 2405(b)(2), 2407.) This helps
identify those VRAs that are doing well, and those that might need further training
in providing the voter registration opportunity to their clients and/or assisting
applicants to properly complete VRCs.
The NVRA requires that States ensure that the identity of the voter registration
agency through which a voter is registered is not disclosed to the public. This
provision requires that local elections officials and VRAs establish procedures to
ensure that such disclosure does not take place. As authorized by state law,
Chapter 6 – page 4
voter records are provided to campaigns, journalists, academic institutions, or
others upon request; however, information regarding the VRA a voter used to
register to vote through is never provided.
D. The Secretary of State’s office completes the county elections officials’ duties
with respect to the following VRAs: offices serving students with disabilities at the
campuses of University of California, California State University, and California
Community Colleges, and the office of Services to the Blind, Assistance Dog
Special Allowance Program.
Additionally, the Secretary of State complies a report of online registrations
generated by unique URLs provided to VRAs.
IV. Information Maintained and Disclosed to the Public
The NVRA requires states to maintain for a minimum of two years and “make available for
public inspection and, where available, photocopying at a reasonable cost, all records
concerning the implementation of programs and activities conducted for the purpose of
ensuring the accuracy and currency of official list of eligible voters, except to the extent
that such records relate to a declination to register to vote or to identify a voter registration
agency through which any particular voter is registered.” The NVRA provides that these
records shall include “lists of the names and addresses” of all persons to whom NVRA
Section 8(d)(2) notices have been sent and information concerning whether the person
has responded to such notice. (For information on Section 8(d)(2) notices, see Chapter 4,
Section V, “Address Confirmation Notices; Updating, Inactivating, and Cancelling Voter
Registration Records.”)
V. Additional Information
In addition to the above information, the Secretary of State asks county elections
officials to report, in narrative form, any comments or suggestions they may have for
improving NVRA efforts to meet the goals and intent of the NVRA.
Chapter 7 – page i
Chapter 7
The National Mail Voter Registration Form
Table of Contents
I. General Information and Background ................................................................... 1
II. Use of the National Form ...................................................................................... 1
III Distribution of National Form to Counties ............................................................. 1
IV. Items on the National Mail Voter Registration Form ............................................. 2
V. Format and Layout of the National Form .............................................................. 4
Chapter 7 – page 1
I. General Information and Background
The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA) required the Federal Election
Commission (FEC) to design a national mail voter registration form (National Form), in
consultation with state elections officials. The NVRA also required states to accept
voter registrations submitted by mail using the National Form.
In 1994, the FEC created the National Form after consulting with state and county
elections officials, social service agencies, and advocacy groups. Since each state has
its own voter registration requirements and forms, the FEC took into consideration the
various paper sizes, voter information, and voter registration database technologies
used in the states in designing the National Form. The National Form is similar to the
California Voter Registration Card (VRC) but there are a number of differences detailed
below.
The National Form can be printed from the Election Assistance Commission (EAC)
website at www.eac.gov. The Secretary of State and county elections offices can make
available paper copies of the National Form upon request.
The National Form may be used to register to vote in any state. The form includes
general instructions as well as state-specific instructions on how to complete the form.
Since the United States has no national or federal voter registration system, completed
forms are sent to the appropriate county elections office and are processed in the same
manner as the state VRC.
II. Use of the National Form
The vast majority of voters continue to use the state VRC to register to vote, and
elections officials may continue to encourage use of the state VRC. However, elections
officials must make the National Form available upon request and may wish to provide
the National Form to organizations targeting outreach efforts to more than one state.
Individuals and groups who may prefer to use the National Form include:
• College students who want to register to vote in the state where they
permanently reside;
• Political party convention organizers;
• Travelers from out-of-state; and
• Military personnel.
III. Distribution of National Form to Counties
The Secretary of State provides both the state VRC and the National Form to counties
upon request. However, since the National Form may be downloaded and printed
directly from the EAC website, county elections officials typically only place orders for
Chapter 7 – page 2
supplies of the state VRC. The Secretary of State invites each county to place orders
for VRC supplies four times a year, at the beginning of each quarter.
Additionally, the Secretary of State has designed a website that provides an online voter
registration application at RegisterToVote.ca.gov. This application is available in
English, Spanish, Chinese, Hindi, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Tagalog, Thai, and
Vietnamese.
IV. Items on the National Mail Voter Registration Form
The form requests the following information:
Name: Last, first, and middle, any suffix – such as “Jr.,” and any prefix – such as “Mr.”
or “Ms.”
Home Address: Street address, Apt. Lot #, City/Town, State, Zip Code. The
instructions direct applicants not to list a post office box or rural route without a box
number. For applicants who live in rural areas or non-traditional homes, the National
Form provides a space for people to draw a residence map.
Mailing Address: If different from home address.
Date of Birth: Month, day and year of birth.
Telephone Number: Optional.
ID Number: The California instructions for the National Form require applicants to
provide either a California driver license or California identification card number (DL/ID),
if the applicant has one, or the last four digits of their social security number, if any. If
this information is not included, the applicant will be required to provide identification
when they vote for the first time.
Choice of Party: Unlike the state VRC, which provides checkboxes for qualified
political parties, the National Form simply provides a blank space to fill in the name of a
political party. The California instructions for the National Form ask applicants to write
the name of a political party, or “No Party Preference” to state” to indicate that the
application does not have a party preference. The California instructions also
encourage applicants to contact the Secretary of State at 1-800-345-VOTE (8683) or
visit www.sos.ca.gov to get a list of qualified political parties and to learn which political
parties allow voters with no political party preference to participate in presidential
primary elections.
Race or Ethnic Group: Similar to the state VRC, the National Form provides a blank
space for applicants to fill in a race or ethnic group. The California instructions for the
National Form direct applicants to leave this field blank, because county elections
officials do not enter data from this field into the voter registration database.
Chapter 7 – page 3
Signature: Applicants must sign and date the National Form and affirm that they:
1. Are a United States citizen,
2. Meet state eligibility requirements and subscribe to any state oath required; and
3. Have provided true information to the best of their knowledge under penalty of
perjury.
The California instructions for the National Form clarify that to register in California, the
applicant must be:
1. A U.S. citizen;
2. A resident of California;
3. At least 18 years old at the next election in order to vote;
4. Not currently serving a state or federal prison term for the conviction of a felony;
and
5. Not currently found to be mentally incompetent to vote by a court.
Name, address, and phone of anyone who helped the applicant: If the applicant is
unable to sign, the general instructions for the National Form provide a space at the end
of the form for the name, address, and phone of the person who helped the applicant
complete the form. This information must only be included if the applicant is unable to
sign. [Note: Phone number is optional.] By contrast, the state VRC contains a space
for the contact information of anyone who assists the applicant in completing any part of
the VRC, regardless of whether the applicant is able to sign the VRC.
Change of name: The National Form provides a space for a prior name, if the form is
used for a name change.
Change of address: The National Form provides a space for a prior address, if the
form is used for an address change.
Map: As noted above, the National Form provides a space to draw a residence map for
applicants who live in rural areas or non-traditional homes.
While the state VRC requests the additional information below, the National Form does
not request the following:
• California county
• Foreign country
• U.S. state or foreign country of birth
• Vote By Mail Choice
• Email address
• Text messaging
Chapter 7 – page 4
• Language Preference
• Accessible format
V. Format and Layout of the National Form
The National Form fits onto regular 8.5” × 11” paper and can be printed from the
Internet. The form includes General Instructions and specific State Instructions for each
state on how to complete the form. Currently, the National Form is available in English,
Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Hindi, Bengali, and Khmer.
The National Form does not contain a return postage stamp.
By contrast, under current state law and regulations, the state VRC is printed on paper
of a special size and weight and contains a unique affidavit number. The VRC also
contains a return address of local elections officials or the Secretary of State, depending
on the VRC and can be mailed without a postage stamp. These restrictions prevent the
state VRC from being printable from the Internet.
Elections officials must accept copies of the National Form printed from a computer
image of the form, as long as the form is completed and signed by the applicant and
either hand-delivered or mailed with first class postage.
Appendix to
California NVRA Manual
Table of Contents
A – Voter Preference Form (in English)
B – Image of Voter Registration Card
C – Guidance Document: Updating Voter Registration Dates
D – Recommended Language for List Maintenance Mailings
E – Diagram: List Maintenance Mailings
F – Husted v. A. Philip Randolph Institute, 138 S. Ct. 1833 (2018)
A – Voter Preference Form (in English)
If you are not registered to vote where you live now, would you like to apply to register to vote here today?
(Check One)
Already registered. I am registered to vote at my current residence address.
Yes.
I would like to register to vote. (Please fill out the attached voter registration form.)
No. I do not want to register to vote.
NOTE: IF YOU DO NOT CHECK A BOX, YOU WILL BE CONSIDERED TO HAVE DECIDED NOT TO REGISTER TO
VOTE AT THIS TIME. YOU MAY TAKE THE ATTACHED VOTER REGISTRATION FORM TO REGISTER AT
YOUR CONVENIENCE.
___________________________________________________________________
Applicant Name Date
Important Notices
1. Applying to register or declining to register to vote will not affect the amount of assistance that you will be provided by this
agency.
2. If you would like help in filling out the voter registration form, we will help you. The decision whether to seek or accept help
is yours. You may fill out the voter registration form in private.
3. If you believe that someone has interfered with your right to register or to decline to register to vote, your right to privacy in
deciding whether to register or in applying to register to vote, or your right to choose your own political party preference or
other political preference, you may file a complaint with the Secretary of State by calling toll-free (800) 345-VOTE (8683)
or you may write to: Secretary of State, 1500 - 11
th
Street, Sacramento, CA, 95814. For more information on elections and
voting, please visit the Secretary of State’s website at www.sos.ca.gov.
01/13 NVRA Voter Preference Form
SAVE
B – Image of Voter Registration Card
9
Print clearly using blue or black ink. Use this form if you: (1) are a new voter, (2) are pre-registering to vote, (3) have
changed your name, (4) have moved and need to update your voter registration address, or (5) want to change your
political party preference. You can also register to vote online at RegisterToVote.ca.gov.
Did someone help you fill out or deliver this form?
If “yes,” the person who helped you must fill out and sign both parts of this blue box.
/
/
/
/
Org. name and phone #:
Org. name and phone #:
Name, address, and phone #:
Name, address, and phone #:
Signature
Signature
Date
Date
The address
where you live
Do not use a P.O. Box #
Signature Date Signed Month Day Year
First Middle
California
county
StateCity
I swear or affirm that:
I am a U.S. citizen and a resident of California and at least 16 years old. I am not currently serving a state or
federal prison term for the conviction of a felony. I am not currently found mentally incompetent to vote by a court.
I understand that it is a crime to intentionally provide incorrect information on this form. I declare under penalty
of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the information on this form is true and correct.
Zip
Last (including suffix, such as Jr., Sr., III)
Home address Apt or Unit #
CA
California driver license or ID card #
M M D D Y Y Y Y
Email (optional)
SSN (last 4 numbers)
XXX-XX-
( )
Phone number (optional)
Date of birth
U.S. state or foreign country of birth
You must sign in
the red box for your
registration to be
complete.
First name
Previous address City
Previous political party preference (if any)
Previous
county
ZipState
Middle initial
Republican Party
American Independent Party
Green Party
Libertarian Party
Peace and Freedom Party
I want to choose a political party preference
I do not want to choose a political party
preference
X
Democratic Party
No Party / None
Other (specify):
I am a U.S. citizen and resident of California
I am 18 or older
I am 16 or 17 and want to pre-register
If “No,” you CANNOT register.
Only choose one.
Yes
Yes
Yes No
No
No
1
2
4
5
6
3
8
7
10
Last name
California
Voter Registration/Pre-Registration Application
I want to get my ballot by mail before each election.
Yes
*
No
Your legal name
220001
If you do not have a street address, describe where you live including cross streets, Route, N, S, E, W, etc.
Foreign
country
StateCity Zip
Mailing address – if different from above or a P.O. Box #
Identification
If you do not have a
CA driver license or
CA ID card, list the
last 4 numbers of
your Social Security
Number (SSN), if
you have one.
The address
where you receive
mail
Skip if same as
address above.
Registration
history
If you were previously
registered or pre-
registered to vote, fill
out this section.
Political party
preference
If you choose “No
Party/None,” you
may not be able
to vote for some
parties’ candidates
at a primary election
for U.S. President, or
for a party’s central
committee.
Optional voter information
Vote by mail
*
If “Yes,” you will get your ballot by mail before each election
but, if you want to vote in person, you must turn in your ballot or
vote a provisional ballot.
I want voting materials in an accessible format.
I want to be a poll worker.
Other language:
My ethnicity/race is:
My language preference for receiving election materials is:
English
Español
Spanish
Tagalog
Japanese
日本語
Hindi
Khmer
Thai
(This part is the voter’s receipt.)
Tear here and fold. Tape to seal. Do not staple. The bottom part is your receipt.
Keep it until you receive a notice from your county elections official.
The law protects your voter registration information against commercial use.
Report any problems to the Secretary of State’s Voter Hotline: (800) 345-8683.
Qualifications
(optional)
Mr.
Mrs.
Ms. Miss
Affidavit
Chinese
中文
Vietnamese
Việt ngữ
Korean
한국어
C – Guidance Document: Updating Voter Registration Dates
Guidance: Updating Voter Registration Dates
Issuance Date: June 24, 2016 Revision Date: July 22, 2019 Page 1 of 7
Purpose
The purpose of this document is to standardize and make consistent the process used by
California counties to add and update voter registration dates.
VoteCal requires a standardized process for voter registration dates across the 58 counties to
provide a consistent process for VoteCal to function as expected. This document provides
guidance for the counties for adding and updating voter registration dates and related fields in
VoteCal.
Guidance
Voter registration dates and related fields (registration source, form type, and delivery method)
are to be updated, based on the tables below, whenever a registration, reregistration, or
address change for a voter has been accepted and the voter record is updated. The VoteCal
Official List extracts include voters eligible for an election based on the precinct and registration
date associated with the voters’ records. A voter is eligible for an election if they are registered
on or before the election registration close date. When a voter’s address is updated without a
corresponding registration date update, the voter’s eligibility to vote in a jurisdiction is
determined based on the registration date on file, which may be a date prior to the change of
address. The VoteCal public access website uses the same logic and as such may display that
a voter is eligible for an election (after the registration close date) when in fact they are not
eligible to vote. Additionally VoteCal uses the registration date (among other events) for
determining match criteria and choosing the appropriate surviving record. Accordingly,
harmonizing registration date update procedures is critical to facilitating a functioning statewide
database.
Registration Date Updates
The VoteCal Project Team – working closely with the CACEO’s Business Process Committee
(BPC) - has identified the following process for adding and updating voter registration dates.
Table 1 - Voter Registration Dates provides guidance on what date to use when updating the
Registration Date.
Note: The Elections Code (EC) sections and California Code of Regulations (CCR) sections
cited below do not prescribe the specific guidelines as described in the following table. The EC
and CCR sections provide supporting information and the premise for developing the below
guidelines.
Table 1: Voter Registration Dates
Address Change Type
Standard Registration Date
Exception Registration Date
New Voter Registration Affidavits
Completed Registration
Affidavit (including paper and
online (COVR) registrations)
(EC §§ 2102, 2196; CCR §
19050.7)
Update the registration date
to the date the affidavit is
received by the Secretary of
State (SOS) or County
Elections Official (County).
If the registration is received in
the mail after E-15 but
postmarked prior to E-15,
backdate the registration date
to E-15.
Guidance: Updating Voter Registration Dates
Issuance Date: June 24, 2016 Revision Date: July 22, 2019 Page 2 of 7
Address Change Type
Standard Registration Date
Exception Registration Date
Unsigned Voter Registration
Affidavit (including paper and
online (COVR) registrations)
(EC §§ 2102, 2153, 2154,
2196)
• Signature Missing
Note: SOS recommends
holding an incomplete Voter
Registration Affidavit for up to
180 days to allow the
registrant time to provide the
information. If the information
is not received within 180
days the County may reject
the incomplete affidavit.
Once the signature is
received by the County the
following occurs:
For Paper Affidavits:
Update the registration date
to the date the unsigned
affidavit is initially received by
the SOS or County (follow
EC section 2102 on received
date).
For Online Registrations:
Update the registration date
to the electronic date the
online registration was
initially received by the
County.
No exceptions
Pre-Registrations that are
eligible for the election (with a
complete registration)
When activating the voter,
update the registration date
to the date the voter turns 18.
(EC § 2102(d))
If voter turns 18 within 60 days
of the election, activate the
voter and backdate the
registration date to no later
than E-15. The County shall
liberally construe this
exception in favor of the voter.
(EC § 14312)
Incomplete Voter Registration
Affidavit (including paper and
online (COVR) registrations)
(EC § 2154; CCR §
20108.18)
• Date of Birth
• “PO Box” as
Residence Address
• Business or
Nonexistent Address
– Entered in System
• Name
• Citizenship box
Note: SOS recommends
holding an incomplete Voter
Registration Affidavit for up to
180 days to allow the
registrant time to provide the
information. If the information
is not received within 180
days, the County may reject
the incomplete affidavit.
Update the registration date
to the date the affidavit is
complete and received by the
County.
If the missing information is
received E-14 through County
certification of the election,
back date the registration date
to E-15.
Guidance: Updating Voter Registration Dates
Issuance Date: June 24, 2016 Revision Date: July 22, 2019 Page 3 of 7
Address Change Type
Standard Registration Date
Exception Registration Date
Registrations from National
Voter Registration Act
(NVRA) Agencies (VRAs) &
DMV (EC § 2102)
VRA: Update the registration
date to the date the VRA
accepted it.
DMV: Update the
registration date to the date
the registration was
submitted to DMV.
VRA: For paper affidavits: If
not date stamped by VRA,
update the registration date to
the date the affidavit is
received by the SOS or
County.
VRA: For COVR: Date/Time
when voter hits submit
DMV: The SOS receives and
passes down the effective
date. DMV populates the
effective date depending on
the source.
Paper Change of Address
Form (Mailed to or Dropped
off at Field Office): Date of
Field Office Stamp
Paper Change of Address
Form (Mailed to
Headquarters): Date of DMV
Headquarters Mail Room
Stamp (or Date Received)
Change of Address Form
(Online): Date/Time when
customer hits submit
Driver License Renewal Form
(Online): Date/Time when
customer hits submit
Driver License Form (Field
Office Transactions [paper or
electronic (EDL44) completed
in Field Office]): Date DMV
Customer visits field office and
completes transaction
Driver License Renewal Form
(Mailed to Headquarters):
DMV Vendor Delivers
documents to the Remittance
Section at DMV HQs
New Resident Affidavit
(EC §§ 3400-3408) {follow
code updates, anticipate
deleting after 2019 Leg.
Session}
Update the registration date
to the date the affidavit is
received by the SOS or
County.
If the registration is received
E-14 through E-7, back date
the registration to E-15.
Guidance: Updating Voter Registration Dates
Issuance Date: June 24, 2016 Revision Date: July 22, 2019 Page 4 of 7
Address Change Type
Standard Registration Date
Exception Registration Date
New Citizen Affidavit (EC §§
3500-3503) {follow code
updates, anticipate deleting
after 2019 Leg. Session}
Update the registration date
to the date the affidavit is
received by the SOS or
County.
If the registration is received
E-14 through the close of
election day, back date the
registration date to E-15.
First Party Address Changes
Signed Request from the
Voter to Change Address (i.e.
letter, returned 8d2 card,
returned RCP, ARC, VNC,
CAN, Credit Reporting
Agency, etc.) (EC § 2119)
Update the registration date
to the date the notification
was received by the County.
If received after E-15, but is
postmarked with a date on or
before, backdate the
registration date to E-15.
Otherwise use date the
notification was received by
the County.
Provisional Voting for Voters
who Moved within the same
County – also known as
Failsafe Voting (EC § 14311)
If deemed valid, update the
registration date to date
received.
No exceptions
DMV Change of Address
(DMV COA) (EC § 2263;
C.C.R. § 20108.51)
Update the registration date
to the DMV COA effective
date. The effective date is the
date embedded in each
record.
No exceptions
Third Party Address Changes
National Change of Address
(NCOA) (EC § 2222) –
Residential Address
Update the registration date
to the date embedded in the
record. Since NCOA only
contains a month and year,
apply the 1
st
day of the
month.
No exceptions
Electronic Address Change
Service (ACS) notifications –
Residential Address
Update the registration date
to the date embedded in the
record. Since ACS only
contains a month and year,
apply the 1
st
day of the
month.
No exceptions
Manual Address Change
Service (ACS) notifications
(NIXIE tabs) – Residential
Address
If any residence address
update: Update the
registration date to the date
the notification was received
by the County.
If no address update:
No change to registration
date.
If the notification is received in
the mail between E-15 and
Election Day, back date the
registration date to E-15.
Residency Confirmation
Postcard (RCP) Change of
Address and Alternate
Residency Confirmation
Postcard (ARC) (EC §§ 2220,
2224)
Depending on info on
returned card, follow either
1
st
party or 3
rd
party return
rules.
If the RCP or ARC is received
in the mail after E-15 but
postmarked prior to E-15,
back date the registration date
to E-15.
Guidance: Updating Voter Registration Dates
Issuance Date: June 24, 2016 Revision Date: July 22, 2019 Page 5 of 7
Address Change Type
Standard Registration Date
Exception Registration Date
Consumer Credit Reporting
Agency (EC § 2227)
No Registration date change,
depending on info returned
from voter, follow either 1
st
party or 3
rd
party return rules.
No exceptions
Additional Registration Information Updates
In addition to updating the registration date, counties shall also update the registration source,
registration form type, and registration delivery method any time the registration date is updated
in order to support the NVRA reporting requirements and complete the bi-annual survey
conducted by the Elections Assistance Commission (EAC).
Table 2: Corresponding Registration Date Fields provides the corresponding EMS field names
and descriptions for each field.
Table 2: Corresponding Registration Date Fields
VoteCal Field
Name
DFM Field Name ESSVR Field
Name
Description
Registration Source Reg
Source/Location
Source The location where the
registration originated. (Where
did the form come from?)
Registration Form
Type
Reg Form Type Type The type of voter registration
form.
Registration
Method
Reg Method Delivery The way in which the County
received the registration. (How
was the form delivered to the
County?)
The VoteCal standard values for the registration source, registration form type, and registration
delivery method are listed below. Due to specific EMS or county preferences, there may not be
exact equivalents configured in your county for each value in the VoteCal standard values
below. Counties are expected to select the option that most closely represents the appropriate
registration source, registration form type, and registration method.
VoteCal Standard Values for Registration Source
• Address Change Service (ACS) Notifications
• Armed Forces Recruiting Centers
• California Department of Tax and Fee Administration
• California Health Benefit Exchange Email
• California Health Benefit Exchange Website
• Consumer Credit Reporting Agency
• County Health/ Social/ Human/ Family/ In-Home Services
• Deaf/Hard of Hearing Services
Guidance: Updating Voter Registration Dates
Issuance Date: June 24, 2016 Revision Date: July 22, 2019 Page 6 of 7
• Department of Motor Vehicles
• Department of Motor Vehicles by Mail
• Department of Public Social Services
• Department of Rehabilitation
• Failsafe Provisional Envelope
• Federal Government Website (NVRA)
• Franchise Tax Board
• Independent Living Center
• Mental Health Services
• National Change of Address (NCOA)
• Office/In Person
• Online Voter Registration
• Other
• Other County Registrar
• Other Designated Agency not listed above
• Other Public Assistance Agency not listed above
• Other received by mail and not included above
• Regional Center
• Registration drives from advocacy groups or political parties
• Secretary of State
• Signed Request from Voter to Change Address
• State-assisted Disability Service Organizations
• Women, Infants, and Children
VoteCal Standard Values for Registration Form Type
• Affidavit Printed Online
• Affidavit (SOS)
• Alternate Residency Confirmation Postcard (ARC)
• Change of Address Notification
• DMV Notice of Change of Address
• Electronic (Online)
• Federal Form (NVRA)
• Federal UOCAVA Reg VBM Application Postcard
• Federal VRC (UOCAVA use only)
• Federal Write-in Vote-By-Mail Ballot (FWAB) (UOCAVA use only)
• Provisional Ballot
• Residency Confirmation Postcard (RCP) Change of Address
• State VRC (UOCAVA use only)
• 8D2 Confirmation Cards/Change of Address Notification (CAN)
• Other
VoteCal Standard Values for Registration Delivery Method
• DMV COA
• DMV DL/ID Renewal by Mail
Guidance: Updating Voter Registration Dates
Issuance Date: June 24, 2016 Revision Date: July 22, 2019 Page 7 of 7
• DMV Field Office (DL44)
• Email
• Fax (military and overseas voters)
• In Person/In Office/ROV
• Mail (from Registration Drive)
• Mail (from SOS)
• Mail (must have a postmark)
• National Change of Address (NCOA)
• Online via the SOS Website
• Other
• Other Social Service Agencies (NVRA) (future use)
• Pluggable Voter Interface
• Polls
• Registration Drive (delivered by drive organizers)
• Secretary of State
• UOCAVA-Federal VRC
• UOCAVA-Federal Write-in Vote-By-Mail Ballot (FWAB)
• UOCAVA-Federal Registration/Vote-By-Mail Application Postcard
• UOCAVA-State VRC
• VoteCal Message
Contact Information
For questions or to report issues contact the SOS VoteCal Help Desk at 888-868-3225 or email
D – Recommended Language for List Maintenance Mailings
Appendix D
Recommended Language for
List Maintenance Mailings in Compliance with
California Elections Code and Section 8d2 of the NVRA
Elections Code Section 2201(c) – Pre-Cancellation Notice/Preaddressed Return Form
Pre-Cancellation Notice
[Date]
[Voter Name, Address]
RE: Voting Rights Cancellation – Change of Address
Dear __:
IMPORTANT NOTICE.
Your voter registration is scheduled to be cancelled on [date].
You were previously sent a notice by your county because the county received
notification from the postal service that you moved and left no forwarding address
or moved out of state. The notice indicated that you must respond if the change
of address information was in error. The county elections official did not receive a
response back from you, and you have not voted at any election since the notice
was mailed to you.
Your voter registration will be cancelled 15 days from the date of this notice
unless you return the attached postage-paid postcard or call [county elections
office phone number].
If we do not receive a response to this notice, and you believe you are eligible to
register to vote, you may be required to reregister to vote in the next election or
vote using a provisional ballot. You can find more information about voter
eligibility rules on the Secretary of State’s website at sos.ca.gov/elections/
voting-resources/voting-california/who-can-vote-california or by calling the
voter hotline at 800-345-VOTE (8683). You can also check your current
registration status at voterstatus.sos.ca.gov.
County Elections Office Contact Information
[county contact information]
Appendix D – page 1
________________________________________________________________
If you have questions or believe this letter was sent to you in error, please
immediately contact us or the Secretary of State’s office at elections@sos.ca.gov
or at 1-800-345-VOTE (8683).
Sincerely,
Attachment
[QR Code]
(RegisterToVote.ca.gov)
Preaddressed Return Form
[County Name, Address]
RE: Voter Registration Cancellation – Change of Address
I have received a pre-cancellation notice from your office that my voter
registration is scheduled to be cancelled because of a change of address.
I believe this scheduled voter registration cancellation is wrong.
SECTION TO BE COMPLETED BY VOTER
Voter Name (Printed): ______________________________________________
Voter Residence Address: ___________________________________________
Voter Mailing Address: ______________________________________________
My voter registration should not be cancelled because I live in California,
and I am eligible to register to vote.
Voter Signature: __________________________________________________
Date: ___________________________________________________________
Elections Code Section 2155 – Voter Notification Card (VNC):
VOTER NOTIFICATION
You are registered to vote. The party preference you chose, if any, is on this card. This card
is being sent as a notification of:
Your recently completed affidavit of registration.
OR,
2. A
change to your registration because of an official notice that you have moved. If y
our
r
esidence address has not changed or if your move is temporary, please call or write to
our
of
fice immediately
.
A
ppendix D – page 2
OR,
3. Your recent registration with a change in party preference. If this change is not correct,
please call or write to our office immediately.
You may vote in any election held 15 or more days after the date on this card.
Your name will appear on the roster kept at the polls.
Please contact our office if the information shown on the reverse side of this card is
incorrect.
Elections Code Section 2220(a) – Preelection Residency Confirmation Postcard:
We are requesting your assistance in correcting the addresses of voters who have moved
and have not reregistered.
1. If you still live at the address noted on this postcard, your voter registration will remain in
effect and you may disregard this notice.
2. If the person named on this postcard is not at this address, please return this postcard to
your mail carrier.
Elections Code Section 2223 – County Voter Information Guide:
Address Correction Requested and Notice:
If the person named on the county voter information guide is not at the address, please help
keep the voter rolls current and save taxpayer dollars by returning this county voter
information guide to your mail carrier.
Elections Code Section 2225(b) –
We have received notification that you have moved to a new residence address in
California. Your voter registration record has been updated to this new address. If this is
correct, you do not have to take any action. If this is incorrect, you can notify our office by
either returning the attached postage-paid postcard, or by calling toll free; you must notify us
at least 15 days prior to the next election or you may be required to vote using a provisional
ballot.
Elections Code Section 2225(c) –
See below: Section 8(d)(2) of the NVRA
Elections Code Section 2227 – Consumer Credit Reporting Agency:
We have received notification that you have moved to a new residence address in ____
County. You will remain registered to vote at your old address unless you notify our office
that the address to which this card was mailed is a change of your permanent residence.
Appendix D – page 3
Please notify our office in writing by returning the attached postage-paid postcard. If this is
not a permanent residence, and you do not wish to change your address for voting
purposes, please disregard this notice.
Section 8(d)(2) of the NVRA:
To avoid cancellation of your voter registration, complete, sign and
return the attached card confirming or updating your address.
DID YOUR ADDRESS CHANGE? We received information that your residence and/or
mailing address has changed. Please confirm or correct these changes by completing the
attached card and returning it to us as soon as possible and at least 15 days before the
date of the next election.
IF YOU MOVED WITHIN [insert name of county] COUNTY OR TO ANOTHER
CALIFORNIA COUNTY: Confirm your address using this card, and your voter registration
will be updated to reflect your new address. You may also update your address by re-
registering to vote online at RegisterToVote.ca.gov or by calling [insert toll free number].
IF YOU MOVED OUT OF CALIFORNIA: Contact your local elections official to register to
vote in your new state, or complete and return the National Mail Voter Registration Form
available at: www.eac.gov/voters/national-mail-voter-registration-form
IF YOU DO NOT RETURN THIS CARD: You must return this card or update your address
at least 15 days before the date of the next election or you may be required to confirm your
address in order to vote. If you do not return this card or update your address and if
you do not vote in any election on or before the [insert date of federal general election
two cycles from the date of printing] General Election, your voter registration will be
cancelled. You will then need to re-register.
[Sample at the end of this Appendix D: Los Angeles County’s Section 8(d)(2) mailing]
Appendix D – page 4
VOTER NAME:
ADDRESS WHERE YOU LIVE:
YOUR MAILING ADDRESS:
Check ONLY one box
VID:
Please sign and return by mail. No postage necessary.
This card cannot be processed without your signature.
Signature (DO NOT PRINT) Telephone Date
The person named on this card no longer lives at this address.
The address information above is correct. Please sign below and return this card.
The address information above is wrong. Please provide the correct information below.
Sign and return this card.
The address where I currently live is:
Street Number, Street Name, Apt #:
City, State, Zip Code:
My current mailing address is (if different from residence address above):
Street Number, Street Name, Apt #:
City, State, Zip Code:
IMPORTANT VOTER NOTICE – RESPONSE NEEDED
SAMPLE
SAMPLE
LOS ANGELES COUNTY REGISTRAR/RECORDER COUNTY CLERK
12400 IMPERIAL HIGHWAY, NORWALK, CA 90650
To avoid cancellation of your voter registration, complete, sign and
return the attached card confirming or updating your address.
DID YOUR ADDRESS CHANGE? We received information that your residence and/or mailing address
has changed. Please confirm or correct these changes by completing the attached card and returning
it to us as soon as possible and at least 15 days before the date of the next election.
IF YOU MOVED WITHIN LOS ANGELES COUNTY OR TO ANOTHER CALIFORNIA COUNTY:
Confirm your address using this card, and your voter registration will be updated to reflect
your new address. You may also update your address by re-registering to vote online at
RegisterToVote.ca.gov or by calling 1-800-815-2666 (Option 2).
IF YOU MOVED OUT OF CALIFORNIA:
Contact your local elections official to register to vote in your new state, or complete and
return the National Mail Voter Registration Form available at:
www.eac.gov/voters/national-mail-voter-registration-form
IF YOU DO NOT RETURN THIS CARD: You must return this card or update your address at least 15 days
before the date of the next election or you may be required to confirm your address in order to vote.
If you do not return this card or update your address and if you do not vote in any election on or
before the November General Election, your voter registration will be cancelled. You will
then need to re-register.
LAVote.net1-800-815-2666 (Option 2) voterinf[email protected]ounty.gov
LA
County
SAMPLE
SAMPLE
E – Diagram: List Maintenance Mailings
NewCOA‐
OutofCA
~ROVaction
Nofollow‐up
mailingnecessary
Cancelsvoter
record
Returned
Undeliverable
Anymailing(excepta
2225(c)/8d2cardorcredit
reportingnotice):
~ROVaction
Changevoterrecord
statusto“inactive”
andsend2225(c)/
8d2card
Acreditreportingnotice:
~ROVaction
Noaction
A2225(c)/8d2card:
~ROVaction
Updatevoterrecord
notingreceipt
Ifafter2Federal
generalelections,
cancelvoterrecord
(unlessthevoterhas
changedtheir
addressorvoted)
InCA
~ROVaction
Updatesvoter
recordand
sends2225(b)
cardtonew
address
Ifoutof
county,use
“pushvoter”
procedures
OutofCA
~ROVaction
Updatesvoter
recordand
sends2225(c)/
8d2card
Ifforwarding
noticewas
froman
2225(c)/8d2
card‐No
action
Without
Information
~ROVaction
Updatesvoter
recordand
sends2225(c)/
8d2card
Ifforwarding
noticewas
froman
2225(c)/8d2
card‐No
action
Personataddress
confirmsvoterdoes
notlivethere
Onallmailings
(except2225(c)/8d2card):
~ROVaction
Updatesvoterrecord
to“inactive”andsends
an2225(c)/8d2card
On2225(c)/8d2card:
~ROVaction
VNC
EC §2155
ReasonforMailing:
‐New/re‐regVRCs/DMV/COVR
‐Letter(EC§2119)
‐DMV–COA
‐1
st
partyCOAinforesultofanymailing
(VNC/2225/8d2card/2227)
Pre‐ElectionResidency
ConfirmationPostcard
EC §2220
ReasonforMailing:
Priortoprimaryelection
VIG
EC §2223
BuybackoptionorACS
electronicfile
EC§2225(b)Card
ReasonforMailing:
‐PostalCOAinfo‐in‐statemove;received
fromaforwardablemailing
‐NCOA–in‐statemoves
CreditReportingNotice
EC §2227
ReasonforMailing:
COAinforeceivedfromcredit
reportingagency
8d2Card
52 USC §20507(d)(2)
Uponmailing,statuschangedto“inactive”
andcancellationtimeframebegins
ReasonforMailing:
‐NCOAout‐of‐state
‐NCOAnoforwardingaddress
‐Confirmsvoternotatthisaddress
EC§2225(c)=8d2Card
Uponmailing,statuschangedto“inactive”andcancellationtimeframebegins
ReasonforMailing:
PostalCOAinfo‐movedwithoutforwardingaddressormovedoutofstate;
receivedfromanonforwardablemailing
Onthesemailings:
VNC,Pre‐electionresidencyconfirmationnotice,
2225(b),2225(c)/8d2card,creditreportingnotice
Onthesemailings:
2225(b),2225(c)/8d2card,credit
reportingnotice,VIG
• Updatevoterrecord
notingreceipt
• Ifafter2Federal
generalelections,
cancelvoterrecord
(unlessthevoterhas
changedtheir
addressorvoted)
June 2024
VoterDoesNot
Respondto
Mailing
~ROVaction
Noaction
Ifnoresponseto
2225(c)/8d2card
after2Federal
generalelections,
cancelvoter
record(unlessthe
voterhas
changedtheir
addressorvoted)
VOTER
SameAddress
~ROVaction
Updatesvoter
recordnoting
receipt
Ifvoter
respondstoan
2225(c)/8d2
card,also
updatestatus
to“active”
NewCOA‐
InCA
Ifsentto“old”ROV:
~ROVaction
OldROVupdates
anduses“Push
Voter”functionto
sendto“new”
ROV;newROV
sendsVNC
Ifsentto“new”ROV:
~ROVaction
NewROVupdates
andsendsVNC
VOTER CONFIRMS
FORWARDING NOTICE
LIST MAINTENANCE MAILINGS
EC §2201(c) - Before cancelling a voter record, ROV must send these forms: Pre-cancellation Notice/Preaddressed Return Form.
Cancellation cannot occur prior to the 15th day after the notice is sent or if the voter contacts your office within 15 days of the notice being sent.
F – Husted v. A. Philip Randolph Institute (2018)
(Slip Opinion) OCTOBER TERM, 2017 1
Syllabus
NOTE: Where it is feasible, a syllabus (headnote) will be released, as is
being done in connection with this case, at the time the opinion is issued.
The syllabus constitutes no part of the opinion of the Court but has been
prepared by the Reporter of Decisions for the convenience of the reader.
See United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co., 200 U. S. 321, 337.
SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
Syllabus
HUSTED, OHIO SECRETARY OF STATE v. A. PHILIP
RANDOLPH INSTITUTE
ET AL.
CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR
THE SIXTH CIRCUIT
No. 16–980. Argued January 10, 2018—Decided June 11, 2018
The National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) addresses the removal of
ineligible voters from state voting rolls, 52 U. S. C. §20501(b), includ-
ing those who are ineligible “by reason of” a change in residence,
§20507(a)(4). The Act prescribes requirements that a State must
meet in order to remove a name on change-of-residence grounds,
§§20507(b), (c), (d). The most relevant of these are found in subsec-
tion (d), which provides that a State may not remove a name on
change-of-residence grounds unless the registrant either (A) confirms
in writing that he or she has moved or (B) fails to return a pread-
dressed, postage prepaid “return card” containing statutorily pre-
scribed content and then fails to vote in any election during the peri-
od covering the next two general federal elections.
In addition to these specific change-of-residence requirements, the
NVRA also contains a general “Failure-to-Vote Clause,” §20507(b)(2),
consisting of two parts. It first provides that a state removal pro-
gram “shall not result in the removal of the name of any per-
son . . . by reason of the person’s failure to vote.” Second, as added by
the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA), it specifies that “nothing
in [this prohibition] may be construed to prohibit a State from using
the procedures” described above—sending a return card and remov-
ing registrants who fail to return the card and fail to vote for the req-
uisite time. Since one of the requirements for removal under subsec-
tion (d) is the failure to vote, the explanation added by HAVA makes
clear that the Failure-to-Vote Clause’s prohibition on removal “by
reason of the person’s failure to vote” does not categorically preclude
using nonvoting as part of a test for removal. Another provision
makes this point even more clearly by providing that “no registrant
2 HUSTED v. A. PHILIP RANDOLPH INSTITUTE
Syllabus
may be removed solely by reason of a failure to vote.” §21083(a)(4)(A)
(emphasis added).
Respondents contend that Ohio’s process for removing voters on
change-of-residence grounds violates this federal law. The Ohio pro-
cess at issue relies on the failure to vote for two years as a rough way
of identifying voters who may have moved. It sends these nonvoters
a preaddressed, postage prepaid return card, asking them to verify
that they still reside at the same address. Voters who do not return
the card and fail to vote in any election for four more years are pre-
sumed to have moved and are removed from the rolls.
Held: The process that Ohio uses to remove voters on change-of-
residence grounds does not violate the Failure-to-Vote Clause or any
other part of the NVRA. Pp. 8–21.
(a) Ohio’s law does not violate the Failure-to-Vote Clause. Pp. 8–
16.
(1) Ohio’s removal process follows subsection (d) to the letter: It
does not remove a registrant on change-of-residence grounds unless
the registrant is sent and fails to mail back a return card and then
fails to vote for an additional four years. See §20507(d)(1)(B). Pp. 8–
9.
(2) Nonetheless, respondents argue that Ohio’s process violates
subsection (b)’s Failure-to-Vote Clause by using a person’s failure to
vote twice over: once as the trigger for sending return cards and
again as one of the two requirements for removal. But Congress
could not have meant for the Failure-to-Vote Clause to cannibalize
subsection (d) in that way. Instead, the Failure-to-Vote Clause, both
as originally enacted in the NVRA and as amended by HAVA, simply
forbids the use of nonvoting as the sole criterion for removing a regis-
trant, and Ohio does not use it that way. The phrase “by reason of”
in the Failure-to-Vote Clause denotes some form of causation, see
Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc., 557 U. S. 167, 176, and in con-
text sole causation is the only type of causation that harmonizes the
Failure-to-Vote Clause and subsection (d). Any other reading would
mean that a State that follows subsection (d) nevertheless can violate
the Failure-to-Vote Clause. When Congress enacted HAVA, it made
this point explicit by adding to the Failure-to-Vote Clause an expla-
nation of how the clause is to be read, i.e., in a way that does not con-
tradict subsection (d). Pp. 9–12.
(3) Respondents’ and the dissent’s alternative reading is incon-
sistent with both the text of the Failure-to-Vote Clause and the clari-
fication of its meaning in §21083(a)(4). Among other things, their
reading would make HAVA’s new language worse than redundant,
since no sensible person would read the Failure-to-Vote Clause as
prohibiting what subsections (c) and (d) expressly allow. Nor does
Cite as: 584 U. S. ____ (2018) 3
Syllabus
the Court’s interpretation render the Failure-to-Vote Clause super-
fluous; the clause retains meaning because it prohibits States from
using nonvoting both as the ground for removal and as the sole evi-
dence for another ground for removal (e.g., as the sole evidence that
someone has died). Pp. 12–15.
(4) Respondents’ additional argument—that so many registered
voters discard return cards upon receipt that the failure to send cards
back is worthless as evidence that an addressee has moved—is based
on a dubious empirical conclusion that conflicts with the congression-
al judgment found in subsection (d). Congress clearly did not think
that the failure to send back a return card was of no evidentiary val-
ue, having made that conduct one of the two requirements for remov-
al under subsection (d). Pp. 15–16.
(b) Nor has Ohio violated other NVRA provisions. Pp. 16–21.
(1) Ohio removes the registrants at issue on a permissible
ground: change of residence. The failure to return a notice and the
failure to vote simply serve as evidence that a registrant has moved,
not as the ground itself for removal. Pp. 16–17.
(2) The NVRA contains no “reliable indicator” prerequisite to
sending notices, requiring States to have good information that
someone has moved before sending them a return card. So long as
the trigger for sending such notices is “uniform, nondiscriminatory,
and in compliance with the Voting Rights Act,” §20507(b)(1), States
may use whatever trigger they think best, including the failure to
vote. Pp. 17–19.
(3) Ohio has not violated the NVRA’s “reasonable effort” provi-
sion, §20507(a)(4). Even assuming that this provision authorizes fed-
eral courts to go beyond the restrictions set out in subsections (b), (c),
and (d) and strike down a state law that does not meet some stand-
ard of “reasonableness,” Ohio’s process cannot be unreasonable be-
cause it uses the change-of-residence evidence that Congress said it
could: the failure to send back a notice coupled with the failure to
vote for the requisite period. Ohio’s process is accordingly lawful.
Pp. 19–21.
838 F. 3d 699, reversed.
A
LITO, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which ROBERTS, C. J.,
and KENNEDY, THOMAS, and GORSUCH, JJ., joined. THOMAS, J., filed a
concurring opinion. BREYER, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which
GINSBURG, SOTOMAYOR, and KAGAN, JJ., joined. SOTOMAYOR, J., filed a
dissenting opinion.
Cite as: 584 U. S. ____ (2018) 1
Opinion of the Court
NOTICE: This opinion is subject to formal revision before publication in the
preliminary print of the United States Reports. Readers are requested to
notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Court of the United States, Wash-
ington, D. C. 20543, of any typographical or other formal errors, in order
that corrections may be made before the preliminary print goes to press.
SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
_________________
No. 16–980
_________________
JON HUSTED, OHIO SECRETARY OF STATE,
PETITIONER v. A. PHILIP RANDOLPH
INSTITUTE,
ET AL.
ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF
APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT
[June 11, 2018]
JUSTICE ALITO delivered the opinion of the Court.
It has been estimated that 24 million voter registrations
in the United States—about one in eight—are either
invalid or significantly inaccurate. Pew Center on the
States, Election Initiatives Issue Brief (Feb. 2012). And
about 2.75 million people are said to be registered to vote
in more than one State. Ibid.
At issue in today’s case is an Ohio law that aims to keep
the State’s voting lists up to date by removing the names
of those who have moved out of the district where they are
registered. Ohio uses the failure to vote for two years as a
rough way of identifying voters who may have moved, and
it then sends a preaddressed, postage prepaid card to
these individuals asking them to verify that they still
reside at the same address. Voters who do not return this
card and fail to vote in any election for four more years are
presumed to have moved and are removed from the rolls.
We are asked to decide whether this program complies
with federal law.
2 HUSTED v. A. PHILIP RANDOLPH INSTITUTE
Opinion of the Court
I
A
Like other States, Ohio requires voters to reside in the
district in which they vote. Ohio Rev. Code Ann.
§3503.01(A) (West Supp. 2017); see National Conference of
State Legislatures, Voting by Nonresidents and Non-
citizens (Feb. 27, 2015). When voters move out of that
district, they become ineligible to vote there. See
§3503.01(A). And since more than 10% of Americans move
every year,
1
deleting the names of those who have moved
away is no small undertaking.
For many years, Congress left it up to the States to
maintain accurate lists of those eligible to vote in federal
elections, but in 1993, with the enactment of the National
Voter Registration Act (NVRA), Congress intervened. The
NVRA “erect[s] a complex superstructure of federal regu-
lation atop state voter-registration systems.” Arizona v.
Inter Tribal Council of Ariz., Inc., 570 U. S. 1, 5 (2013).
The Act has two main objectives: increasing voter registra-
tion and removing ineligible persons from the States’ voter
registration rolls. See §2, 107 Stat. 77, 52 U. S. C.
§20501(b).
To achieve the latter goal, the NVRA requires States to
“conduct a general program that makes a reasonable effort
to remove the names” of voters who are ineligible “by
reason of ” death or change in residence. §20507(a)(4).
——————
1
United States Census Bureau, CB16–189, Americans Moving at
Historically Low Rates (Nov. 16, 2016), available at https://www.
census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2016/cb16-189.html (all Internet
materials as last visited June 8, 2018). States must update the ad-
dresses of even those voters who move within their county of residence,
for (among other reasons) counties may contain multiple voting dis-
tricts. Cf. post, at 12 (B
REYER, J., dissenting). For example, Cuyahoga
County contains 11 State House districts. See House District Map,
Ohio House Districts 2012–2022, online at http://www.ohiohouse.gov/
members/district-map.
Cite as: 584 U. S. ____ (2018) 3
Opinion of the Court
The Act also prescribes requirements that a State must
meet in order to remove a name on change-of-residence
grounds. §§20507(b), (c), (d).
The most important of these requirements is a prior
notice obligation. Before the NVRA, some States removed
registrants without giving any notice. See J. Harris, Nat.
Munic. League, Model Voter Registration System 45 (rev.
4th ed. 1957). The NVRA changed that by providing in
§20507(d)(1) that a State may not remove a registrant’s
name on change-of-residence grounds unless either (A) the
registrant confirms in writing that he or she has moved or
(B) the registrant fails to return a preaddressed, postage
prepaid “return card” containing statutorily prescribed
content. This card must explain what a registrant who
has not moved needs to do in order to stay on the rolls, i.e.,
either return the card or vote during the period covering
the next two general federal elections. §20507(d)(2)(A).
And for the benefit of those who have moved, the card
must contain “information concerning how the registrant
can continue to be eligible to vote.” §20507(d)(2)(B). If
the State does not send such a card or otherwise get writ-
ten notice that the person has moved, it may not remove
the registrant on change-of-residence grounds. See
§20507(d)(1).
2
While the NVRA is clear about the need to send a “re-
turn card” (or obtain written confirmation of a move)
before pruning a registrant’s name, no provision of federal
law specifies the circumstances under which a return card
——————
2
The principal dissent attaches a misleading label to this return card,
calling it a “ ‘last chance’ notice.” Post, at 6–7, 9–12 (opinion of BREYER,
J.). It is actually no such thing. Sending back the notice does not
represent a voter’s “last chance” to avoid having his or her name
stricken from the rolls. Instead, such a voter has many more chances
over a period of four years to avoid that result. All that the voter must
do is vote in any election during that time. See 52 U. S. C.
§20507(d)(1)(B).
4 HUSTED v. A. PHILIP RANDOLPH INSTITUTE
Opinion of the Court
may be sent. Accordingly, States take a variety of ap-
proaches. See Nat. Assn. of Secretaries of State (NASS)
Report: Maintenance of State Voter Registration Lists 5–6
(Dec. 2017). The NVRA itself sets out one option. A State
may send these cards to those who have submitted
“change-of-address information” to the United States
Postal Service. §20507(c)(1). Thirty-six States do at least
that. See NASS Report, supra, at 5, and n. v (listing
States). Other States send notices to every registered
voter at specified intervals (say, once a year). See, e.g.,
Iowa Code §48A.28.3 (2012); S. C. Code Ann. §§7–5–
330(F), 7–5–340(2)–(3) (2017 Cum. Supp.); see also S. Rep.
No. 103–6, p. 46 (1993). Still other States, including Ohio,
take an intermediate approach, see NASS Report, supra,
at 5–6, such as sending notices to those who have turned
in their driver’s licenses, e.g., Ind. Code §§3–7–38.2–
2(b)(2), (c)(4) (2004), or sending notices to those who have
not voted for some period of time, see, e.g., Ga. Code Ann.
§21–2–234 (Supp. 2017); Ohio Rev. Code Ann.
§3503.21(B)(2); Okla. Admin. Code §230:15–11–19(a)(3)
(2016); Pa. Stat. Ann., Tit. 25, §1901(b)(3) (Purdon 2007);
Wis. Stat. Ann. §6.50(1) (2017 West Cum. Supp.).
When a State receives a return card confirming that a
registrant has left the district, the State must remove the
voter’s name from the rolls. §§20507(d)(1)(A), (3). And if
the State receives a card stating that the registrant has
not moved, the registrant’s name must be kept on the list.
See §20507(d)(2)(A).
What if no return card is mailed back? Congress obvi-
ously anticipated that some voters who received cards
would fail to return them for any number of reasons, and
it addressed this contingency in §20507(d), which, for
convenience, we will simply call “subsection (d).” Subsec-
tion (d) treats the failure to return a card as some evi-
dence—but by no means conclusive proof—that the voter
has moved. Instead, the voter’s name is kept on the list
Cite as: 584 U. S. ____ (2018) 5
Opinion of the Court
for a period covering two general elections for federal office
(usually about four years). Only if the registrant fails to
vote during that period and does not otherwise confirm
that he or she still lives in the district (e.g., by updating
address information online) may the registrant’s name be
removed. §20507(d)(2)(A); see §§20507(d)(1)(B), (3).
In addition to these specific change-of-residence re-
quirements, the NVRA also imposes two general limita-
tions that are applicable to state removal programs. First,
all such programs must be “uniform, nondiscriminatory,
and in compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965.”
§20507(b)(1). Second, the NVRA contains what we will
call the “Failure-to-Vote Clause.” See §20507(b)(2).
At present, this clause contains two parts. The first is a
prohibition that was included in the NVRA when it was
originally enacted in 1993. It provides that a state pro-
gram “shall not result in the removal of the name of any
person . . . by reason of the person’s failure to vote.” Ibid.
The second part, added by the Help America Vote Act of
2002 (HAVA), 116 Stat. 1666, explains the meaning of
that prohibition. This explanation says that “nothing in
[the prohibition] may be construed to prohibit a State from
using the procedures described in [§§20507](c) and (d) to
remove an individual from the official list of eligible vot-
ers.” §20507(b)(2).
These referenced subsections, §§20507(c) and (d), are
the provisions allowing the removal of registrants who
either submitted change-of-address information to the
Postal Service (subsection (c)) or did not mail back a re-
turn card and did not vote during a period covering two
general federal elections (subsection (d)). And since one of
the requirements for removal under subsection (d) is the
failure to vote during this period, the explanation added
by HAVA in 2002 makes it clear that the statutory phrase
“by reason of the person’s failure to vote” in the Failure-to-
Vote Clause does not categorically preclude the use of
6 HUSTED v. A. PHILIP RANDOLPH INSTITUTE
Opinion of the Court
nonvoting as part of a test for removal.
Another provision of HAVA makes this point more
directly. After directing that “registrants who have not
responded to a notice and . . . have not voted in 2 consecu-
tive general elections for Federal office shall be removed,”
it adds that “no registrant may be removed solely by rea-
son of a failure to vote.” §21083(a)(4)(A) (emphasis added).
B
Since 1994, Ohio has used two procedures to identify
and remove voters who have lost their residency
qualification.
First, the State utilizes the Postal Service option set out
in the NVRA. The State sends notices to registrants
whom the Postal Service’s “national change of address
service” identifies as having moved. Ohio Rev. Code Ann.
§3503.21(B)(1). This procedure is undisputedly lawful.
See 52 U. S. C. §20507(c)(1).
But because according to the Postal Service “[a]s many
as 40 percent of people who move do not inform the Postal
Service,”
3
Ohio does not rely on this information alone. In
its so-called Supplemental Process, Ohio “identif[ies]
electors whose lack of voter activity indicates they may
have moved.” Record 401 (emphasis deleted). Under this
process, Ohio sends notices to registrants who have “not
engage[d] in any voter activity for a period of two consecu-
tive years.” Id., at 1509. “Voter activity” includes “casting
a ballot” in any election—whether general, primary, or
special and whether federal, state, or local. See id., at
1507. (And Ohio regularly holds elections on both even
and odd years.) Moreover, the term “voter activity” is
——————
3
U. S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector Gen., MS–MA–15–006,
Strategies for Reducing Undeliverable as Addressed Mail 15 (2015); see
also Brief for Buckeye Institute as Amicus Curiae 10. Respondents and
one of their amici dispute this statistic. See Tr. of Oral Arg. 46; Brief
for Asian Americans Advancing Justice et al. as Amici Curiae 27–28.
Cite as: 584 U. S. ____ (2018) 7
Opinion of the Court
broader than simply voting. It also includes such things
as “sign[ing] a petition,” “filing a voter registration form,
and updating a voting address with a variety of [state]
entities.” Id., at 295, 357.
After sending these notices, Ohio removes registrants
from the rolls only if they “fai[l] to respond” and “con-
tinu[e] to be inactive for an additional period of four con-
secutive years, including two federal general elections.”
Id., at 1509; see Ohio Rev. Code Ann. §3503.21(B)(2).
Federal law specifies that a registration may be canceled if
the registrant does not vote “in an election during the
period” covering two general federal elections after notice,
§20507(d)(1)(B)(ii), but Ohio rounds up to “four consecu-
tive years” of nonvoting after notice, Record 1509. Thus, a
person remains on the rolls if he or she votes in any elec-
tion during that period—which in Ohio typically means
voting in any of the at least four elections after notice.
Combined with the two years of nonvoting before notice is
sent, that makes a total of six years of nonvoting before
removal. Ibid.
C
A pair of advocacy groups and an Ohio resident (re-
spondents here) think that Ohio’s Supplemental Process
violates the NVRA and HAVA. They sued petitioner,
Ohio’s Secretary of State, seeking to enjoin this process.
Respondents alleged, first, that Ohio removes voters who
have not actually moved, thus purging the rolls of eligible
voters. They also contended that Ohio violates the
NVRA’s Failure-to-Vote Clause because the failure to vote
plays a prominent part in the Ohio removal scheme: Fail-
ure to vote for two years triggers the sending of a return
card, and if the card is not returned, failure to vote for four
more years results in removal.
The District Court rejected both of these arguments and
entered judgment for the Secretary. It held that Ohio’s
8 HUSTED v. A. PHILIP RANDOLPH INSTITUTE
Opinion of the Court
Supplemental Process “mirror[s] the procedures estab-
lished by the NVRA” for removing people on change-of-
residence grounds and does not violate the Failure-to-Vote
Clause because it does not remove anyone “solely for
[their] failure to vote.” App. to Pet. for Cert. 43a, 57a,
69a–70a.
A divided panel of the Court of Appeals for the Sixth
Circuit reversed. 838 F. 3d 699 (2016). It focused on
respondents’ second argument, holding that Ohio violates
the Failure-to-Vote Clause because it sends change-of-
residence notices “based ‘solely’ on a person’s failure to
vote.” Id., at 711. In dissent, Judge Siler explained why
he saw the case as a simple one: “The State cannot remove
the registrant’s name from the rolls for a failure to vote
only, and Ohio does not do [that].” Id., at 716.
We granted certiorari, 581 U. S. ___ (2017), and now
reverse.
II
A
As noted, subsection (d), the provision of the NVRA that
directly addresses the procedures that a State must follow
before removing a registrant from the rolls on change-of-
residence grounds, provides that a State may remove a
registrant who “(i) has failed to respond to a notice” and
“(ii) has not voted or appeared to vote . . . during the pe-
riod beginning on the date of the notice and ending on the
day after the date of the second general election for Fed-
eral office that occurs after the date of the notice” (about
four years). 52 U. S. C. §20507(d)(1)(B). Not only are
States allowed to remove registrants who satisfy these
requirements, but federal law makes this removal manda-
tory. §20507(d)(3); see also §21083(a)(4)(A).
Ohio’s Supplemental Process follows subsection (d) to
the letter. It is undisputed that Ohio does not remove a
registrant on change-of-residence grounds unless the
Cite as: 584 U. S. ____ (2018) 9
Opinion of the Court
registrant is sent and fails to mail back a return card and
then fails to vote for an additional four years.
B
Respondents argue (and the Sixth Circuit held) that,
even if Ohio’s process complies with subsection (d), it
nevertheless violates the Failure-to-Vote Clause—the
clause that generally prohibits States from removing
people from the rolls “by reason of [a] person’s failure to
vote.” §20507(b)(2); see also §21083(a)(4)(A). Respondents
point out that Ohio’s Supplemental Process uses a person’s
failure to vote twice: once as the trigger for sending return
cards and again as one of the requirements for removal.
Respondents conclude that this use of nonvoting is illegal.
We reject this argument because the Failure-to-Vote
Clause, both as originally enacted in the NVRA and as
amended by HAVA, simply forbids the use of nonvoting as
the sole criterion for removing a registrant, and Ohio does
not use it that way. Instead, as permitted by subsection
(d), Ohio removes registrants only if they have failed to
vote and have failed to respond to a notice.
When Congress clarified the meaning of the NVRA’s
Failure-to-Vote Clause in HAVA, here is what it said:
“[C]onsistent with the [NVRA], . . . no registrant may be
removed solely by reason of a failure to vote.”
§21083(a)(4)(A) (emphasis added). The meaning of these
words is straightforward. “Solely” means “alone.” Web-
ster’s Third New International Dictionary 2168 (2002);
American Heritage Dictionary 1654 (4th ed. 2000). And
“by reason of ” is a “quite formal” way of saying “[b]ecause
of.” C. Ammer, American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms
67 (2d ed. 2013). Thus, a State violates the Failure-to-
Vote Clause only if it removes registrants for no reason
other than their failure to vote.
This explanation of the meaning of the Failure-to-Vote
Clause merely makes explicit what was implicit in the
10 HUSTED v. A. PHILIP RANDOLPH INSTITUTE
Opinion of the Court
clause as originally enacted. At that time, the clause
simply said that a state program “shall not result in the
removal of the name of any person from the [rolls for
federal elections] by reason of the person’s failure to vote.”
107 Stat. 83. But that prohibition had to be read together
with subsection (d), which authorized removal if a regis-
trant did not send back a return card and also failed to
vote during a period covering two successive general elec-
tions for federal office. If possible, “[w]e must interpret
the statute to give effect to both provisions,” Ricci v.
DeStefano, 557 U. S. 557, 580 (2009), and here, that is
quite easy.
The phrase “by reason of ” denotes some form of causa-
tion. See Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc., 557 U. S.
167, 176 (2009). Thus, the Failure-to-Vote Clause applies
when nonvoting, in some sense, causes a registrant’s name
to be removed, but the law recognizes several types of
causation. When a statutory provision includes an unde-
fined causation requirement, we look to context to decide
whether the statute demands only but-for cause as op-
posed to proximate cause or sole cause. See Holmes v.
Securities Investor Protection Corporation, 503 U. S. 258,
265–268 (1992). Cf. CSX Transp., Inc. v. McBride, 564
U. S. 685, 692–693 (2011).
Which form of causation is required by the Failure-to-
Vote Clause? We can readily rule out but-for causation. If
“by reason of ” in the Failure-to-Vote Clause meant but-for
causation, a State would violate the clause if the failure to
vote played a necessary part in the removal of a name
from the list. Burrage v. United States, 571 U. S. 204, 211
(2014). But the removal process expressly authorized by
subsection (d) allows a State to remove a registrant if the
registrant, in addition to failing to send back a return
card, fails to vote during a period covering two general
federal elections. So if the Failure-to-Vote Clause were
read in this way, it would cannibalize subsection (d).
Cite as: 584 U. S. ____ (2018) 11
Opinion of the Court
Interpreting the Failure-to-Vote Clause as incorporating
a proximate cause requirement would lead to a similar
problem. Proximate cause is an elusive concept, see
McBride, supra, at 692–693, but no matter how the term
is understood, it is hard to escape the conclusion that the
failure to vote is a proximate cause of removal under
subsection (d). If a registrant, having failed to send back a
return card, also fails to vote during the period covering
the next two general federal elections, removal is the
direct, foreseeable, and closely connected consequence.
See Paroline v. United States, 572 U. S. 434, 444–445
(2014); Bridge v. Phoenix Bond & Indemnity Co., 553 U. S.
639, 654 (2008).
By process of elimination, we are left with sole causa-
tion. This reading harmonizes the Failure-to-Vote Clause
and subsection (d) because the latter provision does not
authorize removal solely by reason of a person’s failure to
vote. Instead, subsection (d) authorizes removal only if a
registrant also fails to mail back a return card.
For these reasons, we conclude that the Failure-to-Vote
Clause, as originally enacted, referred to sole causation.
And when Congress enacted HAVA, it made this point
explicit. It added to the Failure-to-Vote Clause itself an
explanation of how it is to be read, i.e., in a way that does
not contradict subsection (d). And in language that cannot
be misunderstood, it reiterated what the clause means:
“[R]egistrants who have not responded to a notice and who
have not voted in 2 consecutive general elections for Fed-
eral office shall be removed from the official list of eligible
voters, except that no registrant may be removed solely by
reason of a failure to vote.” §21083(a)(4)(A) (emphasis
added). In this way, HAVA dispelled any doubt that a
state removal program may use the failure to vote as a
factor (but not the sole factor) in removing names from the
list of registered voters.
That is exactly what Ohio’s Supplemental Process does.
12 HUSTED v. A. PHILIP RANDOLPH INSTITUTE
Opinion of the Court
It does not strike any registrant solely by reason of the
failure to vote. Instead, as expressly permitted by federal
law, it removes registrants only when they have failed to
vote and have failed to respond to a change-of-residence
notice.
C
Respondents and the dissent advance an alternative
interpretation of the Failure-to-Vote Clause, but that
reading is inconsistent with both the text of the clause and
the clarification of its meaning in §21083(a)(4)(A). Re-
spondents argue that the clause allows States to consider
nonvoting only to the extent that subsection (d) requires—
that is, only after a registrant has failed to mail back a
notice. Any other use of the failure to vote, including as
the trigger for mailing a notice, they claim, is proscribed.
In essence, respondents read the language added to the
clause by HAVA—“except that nothing in this paragraph
may be construed to prohibit a State from using the proce-
dures described in subsections (c) and (d)”—as an excep-
tion to the general rule forbidding the use of nonvoting.
See Brief for Respondents 37. And the Sixth Circuit
seemed to find this point dispositive, reasoning that “
‘ex-
ceptions in statutes must be strictly construed.’
” 838
F. 3d, at 708 (quoting Detroit Edison Co. v. SEC, 119 F. 2d
730, 739 (CA6 1941)).
We reject this argument for three reasons. First, it
distorts what the new language added by HAVA actually
says. The new language does not create an exception to a
general rule against the use of nonvoting. It does not say
that the failure to vote may not be used “except that this
paragraph does not prohibit a State from using the proce-
dures described in subsections (c) and (d).” Instead, it
says that “nothing in this paragraph may be construed” to
have that effect. §20507(b)(2) (emphasis added). Thus, it
sets out not an exception, but a rule of interpretation. It
Cite as: 584 U. S. ____ (2018) 13
Opinion of the Court
does not narrow the language that precedes it; it clarifies
what that language means. That is precisely what Con-
gress said when it enacted HAVA: It added the “may not
be construed” provision to “[c]larif[y],” not to alter, the
prohibition’s scope. §903, 116 Stat. 1728.
Second, under respondents’ reading, HAVA’s new lan-
guage is worse than superfluous. Even without the added
language, no sensible person would read the Failure-to-
Vote Clause as prohibiting what subsections (c) and (d)
expressly allow. Yet according to respondents, that is all
that the new language accomplishes. So at a minimum, it
would be redundant.
But the implications of this reading are actually worse
than that. There is no reason to create an exception to a
prohibition unless the prohibition would otherwise forbid
what the exception allows. So if the new language were
an exception, it would seem to follow that prior to HAVA,
the Failure-to-Vote Clause did outlaw what subsections (c)
and (d) specifically authorize. And that, of course, would
be nonsensical.
Third, respondents’ reading of the language that HAVA
added to the Failure-to-Vote Clause makes it hard to
understand why Congress prescribed in another section of
the same Act, i.e., §21083(a)(4)(A), that “no registrant may
be removed solely by reason of a failure to vote.” As inter-
preted by respondents, the amended Failure-to-Vote
Clause prohibits any use of nonvoting with just two nar-
row exceptions—the uses allowed by subsections (c) and
(d). So, according to respondents, the amended Failure-to-
Vote Clause prohibits much more than §21083(a)(4)(A).
That provision, in addition to allowing the use of nonvot-
ing in accordance with subsections (c) and (d), also permits
the use of nonvoting in any other way that does not treat
nonvoting as the sole basis for removal.
There is no plausible reason why Congress would enact
the provision that respondents envision. As interpreted by
14 HUSTED v. A. PHILIP RANDOLPH INSTITUTE
Opinion of the Court
respondents, HAVA would be like a law that contains one
provision making it illegal to drive with a blood alcohol
level of 0.08 or higher and another provision making it
illegal to drive with a blood alcohol level of 0.10 or higher.
The second provision would not only be redundant; it
would be confusing and downright silly.
Our reading, on the other hand, gives the new language
added to the Failure-to-Vote Clause “real and substantial
effect.” Husky Int’l Electronics, Inc. v. Ritz, 578 U. S. ___,
___ (2016) (slip op., at 4) (internal quotation marks omit-
ted). It clarifies the meaning of the prohibition against
removal by reason of nonvoting, a matter that troubled
some States prior to HAVA’s enactment. See, e.g., FEC
Report on the NVRA to the 106th Congress 19 (1999).
Respondents and the dissent separately claim that the
Failure-to-Vote Clause must be read to bar the use of
nonvoting as a trigger for sending return cards because
otherwise it would be “superfluous.” Post, at 17 (opinion of
B
REYER, J.); see Brief for Respondents 29. After all, sub-
section (d) already prohibits States from removing regis-
trants because of a failure to vote alone. See §20507(d)(1).
To have meaning independent of subsection (d), respond-
ents reason, the Failure-to-Vote Clause must prohibit
other uses of the failure to vote, including its use as a
trigger for sending out notices.
This argument is flawed because the Failure-to-Vote
Clause has plenty of work to do under our reading. Most
important, it prohibits the once-common state practice of
removing registered voters simply because they failed to
vote for some period of time. Not too long ago,
“[c]ancellation for failure to vote [was] the principal means
used . . . to purge the [voter] lists.” Harris, Model Voter
Registration System, at 44. States did not use a person’s
failure to vote as evidence that the person had died or
moved but as an independent ground for removal. See
Cite as: 584 U. S. ____ (2018) 15
Opinion of the Court
ibid.
4
Ohio was one such State. Its Constitution provided
that “[a]ny elector who fails to vote in at least one election
during any period of four consecutive years shall cease to
be an elector unless he again registers to vote.” Art. V, §1
(1977).
In addition, our reading prohibits States from using the
failure to vote as the sole cause for removal on any ground,
not just because of a change of residence. Recall that
subsection (d)’s removal process applies only to change-of-
residence removals but that the Failure-to-Vote Clause
applies to all removals. Without the Failure-to-Vote
Clause, therefore, States could use the failure to vote as
conclusive evidence of ineligibility for some reason other
than change of residence, such as death, mental incapac-
ity, or a criminal conviction resulting in prolonged impris-
onment.
D
Respondents put forth one additional argument regard-
ing the Failure-to-Vote Clause. In essence, it boils down
to this. So many properly registered voters simply discard
return cards upon receipt that the failure to send them
back is worthless as evidence that the addressee has
moved. As respondents’ counsel put it at argument, “a
notice that doesn’t get returned” tells the State “absolutely
nothing about whether the person has moved.” Tr. of Oral
Arg. 41, 58. According to respondents, when Ohio removes
registrants for failing to respond to a notice and failing to
vote, it functionally “removes people solely for non-voting”
unless the State has additional “reliable evidence” that a
registrant has moved. Id., at 49, 71.
This argument is based on a dubious empirical conclu-
——————
4
See, e.g., Haw. Rev. Stat. §11–17(a) (1993); Idaho Code Ann. §34–
435 (1981); Minn. Stat. §201.171 (1992); Mont. Code Ann. §13–2–401(1)
(1993); N. J. Stat. Ann. §19:31–5 (West Supp. 1989); Okla. Stat., Tit. 26,
§4–120.2 (1991); Utah Code §20–2–24(1)(b) (1991).
16 HUSTED v. A. PHILIP RANDOLPH INSTITUTE
Opinion of the Court
sion that the NVRA and HAVA do not allow us to indulge.
Congress clearly did not think that the failure to send
back a return card was of no evidentiary value because
Congress made that conduct one of the two requirements
for removal under subsection (d).
Requiring additional evidence not only second-guesses
the congressional judgment embodied in subsection (d)’s
removal process, but it also second-guesses the judgment
of the Ohio Legislature as expressed in the State’s Sup-
plemental Process. The Constitution gives States the
authority to set the qualifications for voting in congres-
sional elections, Art. I, §2, cl. 1; Amdt. 17, as well as the
authority to set the “Times, Places and Manner” to con-
duct such elections in the absence of contrary congressional
direction, Art. I, §4, cl. 1. We have no authority to dismiss
the considered judgment of Congress and the Ohio Legis-
lature regarding the probative value of a registrant’s
failure to send back a return card. See Inter Tribal, 570
U. S., at 16–19; see also id., at 36–37 (T
HOMAS, J., dissent-
ing); id., at 42–43, 46 (A
LITO, J., dissenting).
For all these reasons, we hold that Ohio law does not
violate the Failure-to-Vote Clause.
III
We similarly reject respondents’ argument that Ohio
violates other provisions of the NVRA and HAVA.
A
Respondents contend that Ohio removes registered
voters on a ground not permitted by the NVRA. They
claim that the NVRA permits the removal of a name for
only a few specified reasons—a person’s request, criminal
conviction, mental incapacity, death, change of residence,
and initial ineligibility. Brief for Respondents 25–26; see
52 U. S. C. §§20507(a)(3), (4).
5
And they argue that Ohio
——————
5
We assume for the sake of argument that Congress has the constitu-
Cite as: 584 U. S. ____ (2018) 17
Opinion of the Court
removes registrants for other reasons, namely, for failing
to respond to a notice and failing to vote.
This argument plainly fails. Ohio simply treats the
failure to return a notice and the failure to vote as evi-
dence that a registrant has moved, not as a ground for
removal. And in doing this, Ohio simply follows federal
law. Subsection (d), which governs removals “on the
ground that the registrant has changed residence,” treats
the failure to return a notice and the failure to vote as
evidence that this ground is satisfied. §20507(d)(1).
If respondents’ argument were correct, then it would
also be illegal to remove a name under §20507(c) because
that would constitute removal for submitting change-of-
address information to the Postal Service. Likewise, if a
State removed a name after receiving a death certificate or
a judgment of criminal conviction, that would be illegal
because receipt of such documents is not listed as a
permitted ground for removal under §20507(a)(3) or
§20507(a)(4). About this argument no more need be said.
B
Respondents maintain, finally, that Ohio’s procedure is
illegal because the State sends out notices without having
any “reliable indicator” that the addressee has moved.
Brief for Respondents 31. The “[f]ailure to vote for a mere
two-year period,” they argue, does not reliably “indicate
that a registrant has moved out of the jurisdiction.” Id., at
30; see also, e.g., Brief for State of New York et al. as
Amici Curiae 13–28.
This argument also fails. The degree of correlation
between the failure to vote for two years and a change of
residence is debatable, but we know from subsection (d)
that Congress thought that the failure to vote for a period
——————
tional authority to limit voting eligibility requirements in the way
respondents suggest.
18 HUSTED v. A. PHILIP RANDOLPH INSTITUTE
Opinion of the Court
of two consecutive general elections was a good indicator
of change of residence, since it made nonvoting for that
period an element of subsection (d)’s requirements for
removal. In a similar vein, the Ohio Legislature appar-
ently thought that nonvoting for two years was sufficiently
correlated with a change of residence to justify sending a
return card.
What matters for present purposes is not whether the
Ohio Legislature overestimated the correlation between
nonvoting and moving or whether it reached a wise policy
judgment about when return cards should be sent. For us,
all that matters is that no provision of the NVRA prohibits
the legislature from implementing that judgment. Neither
subsection (d) nor any other provision of the NVRA de-
mands that a State have some particular quantum of
evidence of a change of residence before sending a regis-
trant a return card. So long as the trigger for sending
such notices is “uniform, nondiscriminatory, and in com-
pliance with the Voting Rights Act,” §20507(b)(1), States
can use whatever plan they think best. That may be why
not even the Sixth Circuit relied on this rationale.
Respondents attempt to find support for their argument
in subsection (c), which allows States to send notices based
on Postal Service change-of-address information. This
provision, they argue, implicitly sets a minimum reliabil-
ity requirement. Thus, they claim, a State may not send
out a return card unless its evidence of change of resi-
dence is at least as probative as the information obtained
from the Postal Service. See Tr. of Oral Arg. 56.
Nothing in subsection (c) suggests that it is designed to
play this role. Subsection (c) says that “[a] State may
meet” its obligation “to remove the names” of ineligible
voters on change-of-residence grounds by sending notices
to voters who are shown by the Postal Service information
to have moved, but subsection (c) does not even hint that it
imposes any sort of minimum reliability requirement for
Cite as: 584 U. S. ____ (2018) 19
Opinion of the Court
sending such notices. §§20507(a)(4), (c). By its terms,
subsection (c) simply provides one way—the minimal
way—in which a State “may meet the [NVRA’s] require-
ment[s]” for change-of-residence removals. §20507(c)
(emphasis added). As respondents agreed at argument, it
is not the only way. Tr. of Oral Arg. 53.
C
Nothing in the two dissents changes our analysis of the
statutory language.
1
Despite its length and complexity, the principal dissent
sets out only two arguments. See post, at 7–8 (opinion of
B
REYER, J.). The first is one that we have already dis-
cussed at length, namely, that the Failure-to-Vote Clause
prohibits any use of the failure to vote except as permitted
by subsections (c) and (d). We have explained why this
argument is insupportable, supra, at 12–16, and the dis-
sent has no answer to any of the problems we identify.
The dissent’s only other argument is that Ohio’s process
violates §20507(a)(4), which requires States to make a
“reasonable effort” to remove the names of ineligible voters
from the rolls. The dissent thinks that this provision
authorizes the federal courts to go beyond the restrictions
set out in subsections (b), (c), and (d) and to strike down
any state law that does not meet their own standard of
“reasonableness.” But see Brief for United States as
Amicus Curiae 28–29. The dissent contends that Ohio’s
system violates this supposed “reasonableness” require-
ment primarily because it relies on the failure to mail back
the postcard sent to those who have not engaged in voter
activity for two years. Based on its own cobbled-together
statistics, post, at 12–13, and a feature of human nature of
which the dissent has apparently taken judicial notice
(i.e., “the human tendency not to send back cards received
20 HUSTED v. A. PHILIP RANDOLPH INSTITUTE
Opinion of the Court
in the mail,” post, at 13), the dissent argues that the fail-
ure to send back the card in question “has no tendency to
reveal accurately whether the registered voter has
changed residences”; it is an “irrelevant factor” that
“shows nothing at all that is statutorily significant.” Post,
at 13–14, 17.
Whatever the meaning of §20507(a)(4)’s reference to
reasonableness, the principal dissent’s argument fails
since it is the federal NVRA, not Ohio law, that attaches
importance to the failure to send back the card. See
§§20507(d)(1)(B)(i), (d)(2)(A). The dissenters may not
think that the failure to send back the card means any-
thing, but that was not Congress’s view. The NVRA plainly
reflects Congress’s judgment that the failure to send back
the card, coupled with the failure to vote during the period
covering the next two general federal elections, is signifi-
cant evidence that the addressee has moved.
It is not our prerogative to judge the reasonableness of
that congressional judgment, but we note that, whatever
the general “human tendency” may be with respect to
mailing back cards received in the mail, the notice sent
under subsection (d) is nothing like the solicitations for
commercial products or contributions that recipients may
routinely discard. The notice in question here warns
recipients that unless they take the simple and easy step
of mailing back the preaddressed, postage prepaid card—
or take the equally easy step of updating their information
online—their names may be removed from the voting rolls
if they do not vote during the next four years. See Record
295–296, 357. It was Congress’s judgment that a reasona-
ble person with an interest in voting is not likely to ignore
notice of this sort.
2
J
USTICE SOTOMAYOR’s dissent says nothing about what
is relevant in this case—namely, the language of the
Cite as: 584 U. S. ____ (2018) 21
Opinion of the Court
NVRA—but instead accuses us of “ignor[ing] the history of
voter suppression” in this country and of “uphold[ing] a
program that appears to further the . . . disenfranchise-
ment of minority and low-income voters.” Post, at 5.
Those charges are misconceived.
The NVRA prohibits state programs that are discrimi-
natory, see §20507(b)(1), but respondents did not assert a
claim under that provision. And J
USTICE SOTOMAYOR has
not pointed to any evidence in the record that Ohio insti-
tuted or has carried out its program with discriminatory
intent.
* * *
The dissents have a policy disagreement, not just with
Ohio, but with Congress. But this case presents a ques-
tion of statutory interpretation, not a question of policy.
We have no authority to second-guess Congress or to
decide whether Ohio’s Supplemental Process is the ideal
method for keeping its voting rolls up to date. The only
question before us is whether it violates federal law. It
does not.
The judgment of the Sixth Circuit is reversed.
It is so ordered.
Cite as: 584 U. S. ____ (2018) 1
T
HOMAS, J., concurring
SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
_________________
No. 16–980
_________________
JON HUSTED, OHIO SECRETARY OF STATE,
PETITIONER v. A. PHILIP RANDOLPH
INSTITUTE,
ET AL.
ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF
APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT
[June 11, 2018]
THOMAS, J., concurring.
I join the Court’s opinion in full. I write separately to
add that respondents’ proposed interpretation of the Na-
tional Voter Registration Act (NVRA) should also be re-
jected because it would raise significant constitutional
concerns.
Respondents would interpret the NVRA to prevent
States from using failure to vote as evidence when decid-
ing whether their voting qualifications have been satisfied.
Brief for Respondents 25–30. The Court’s opinion explains
why that reading is inconsistent with the text of the
NVRA. See ante, at 7–18. But even if the NVRA were
“susceptible” to respondents’ reading, it could not prevail
because it “raises serious constitutional doubts” that the
Court’s interpretation avoids. Jennings v. Rodriguez, 583
U. S. ___, ___ (2018) (slip op., at 2).
As I have previously explained, constitutional text and
history both “confirm that States have the exclusive au-
thority to set voter qualifications and to determine whether
those qualifications are satisfied.” Arizona v. Inter
Tribal Council of Ariz., Inc., 570 U. S. 1, 29 (2013)
(T
HOMAS, J., dissenting). The Voter-Qualifications Clause
provides that, in elections for the House of Representa-
tives, “the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifica-
2 HUSTED v. A. PHILIP RANDOLPH INSTITUTE
T
HOMAS, J., concurring
tions requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch
of the State Legislature.” U. S. Const., Art. I, §2, cl. 1.
The Seventeenth Amendment imposes an identical re-
quirement for elections of Senators. And the Constitution
recognizes the authority of States to “appoint” Presidential
electors “in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may
direct.” Art. II, §1, cl. 2; see Inter Tribal Council of Ariz.,
570 U. S., at 35, n. 2 (opinion of T
HOMAS, J.). States thus
retain the authority to decide the qualifications to vote in
federal elections, limited only by the requirement that
they not “
‘establish special requirements’ ” for congres-
sional elections “
‘that do not apply in elections for the
state legislature.’
” Id., at 26 (quoting U. S. Term Limits,
Inc. v. Thornton, 514 U. S. 779, 865 (1995) (T
HOMAS, J.,
dissenting)). And because the power to establish require-
ments would mean little without the ability to enforce
them, the Voter Qualifications Clause also “gives States
the authority . . . to verify whether [their] qualifications
are satisfied.” 570 U. S., at 28.
Respondents’ reading of the NVRA would seriously
interfere with the States’ constitutional authority to set
and enforce voter qualifications. To vote in Ohio, electors
must have been a state resident 30 days before the elec-
tion, as well as a resident of the county and precinct where
they vote. Ohio Rev. Code Ann. §3503.01(A) (Lexis 2015);
see also Ohio Const., Art. V, §1. Ohio uses a record of
nonvoting as one piece of evidence that voters no longer
satisfy the residence requirement. Reading the NVRA to
bar Ohio from considering nonvoting would therefore
interfere with the State’s “authority to verify” that its
qualifications are met “in the way it deems necessary.”
Inter Tribal Council of Ariz., supra, at 36. Respondents’
reading thus renders the NVRA constitutionally suspect
and should be disfavored. See Jennings, supra, at ___ (slip
op., at 2).
Respondents counter that Congress’ power to regulate
Cite as: 584 U. S. ____ (2018) 3
T
HOMAS, J., concurring
the “Times, Places and Manner” of holding congressional
elections includes the power to impose limits on the evi-
dence that a State may consider when maintaining its
voter rolls. See Brief for Respondents 51–55; see also
Art. I, §4, cl. 1 (“The Times, Places and Manner of holding
Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be pre-
scribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the
Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such
Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators”).
But, as originally understood, the Times, Places and Man-
ner Clause grants Congress power “only over the ‘when,
where, and how’ of holding congressional elections,” not
over the question of who can vote. Inter Tribal Council of
Ariz., supra, at 29 (opinion of T
HOMAS, J.) (quoting T.
Parsons, Notes of Convention Debates, Jan. 16, 1788, in 6
Documentary History of the Ratification of the Constitu-
tion 1211 (J. Kaminski & G. Saladino eds. 2000) (Massa-
chusetts ratification delegate Sedgwick)). The “
‘Manner of
holding Elections’
” was understood to refer to “the circum-
stances under which elections were held and the mechan-
ics of the actual election.” 570 U. S., at 30 (quoting Art. I,
§4, cl. 1). It does not give Congress the authority to dis-
place state voter qualifications or dictate what evidence a
State may consider in deciding whether those qualifica-
tions have been met. See 570 U. S., at 29–33. The Clause
thus does not change the fact that respondents’ reading of
the NVRA is constitutionally suspect.
The Court’s interpretation of the NVRA was already the
correct reading of the statute: The NVRA does not prohibit
a State from considering failure to vote as evidence that a
registrant has moved. The fact that this reading avoids
serious constitutional problems is an additional reason
why, in my view, today’s decision is undoubtedly correct.
Cite as: 584 U. S. ____ (2018) 1
B
REYER, J., dissenting
SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
_________________
No. 16–980
_________________
JON HUSTED, OHIO SECRETARY OF STATE,
PETITIONER v. A. PHILIP RANDOLPH
INSTITUTE,
ET AL.
ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF
APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT
[June 11, 2018]
JUSTICE BREYER, with whom JUSTICE GINSBURG,
JUSTICE SOTOMAYOR, and JUSTICE KAGAN join, dissenting.
Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993
requires States to “conduct a general program that makes
a reasonable effort to remove the names of ineligible vot-
ers from the official lists of eligible voters by reason of . . .
a change in the residence of the registrant.” §8(a)(4), 107
Stat. 82–83, 52 U. S. C. §20507(a)(4). This case concerns
the State of Ohio’s change-of-residence removal program
(called the “Supplemental Process”), under which a regis-
tered voter’s failure to vote in a single federal election
begins a process that may well result in the removal of
that voter’s name from the federal voter rolls. See infra,
at 7. The question is whether the Supplemental Process
violates §8, which prohibits a State from removing regis-
trants from the federal voter roll “by reason of the person’s
failure to vote.” §20507(b)(2). In my view, Ohio’s program
does just that. And I shall explain why and how that is so.
I
This case concerns the manner in which States maintain
federal voter registration lists. In the late 19th and early
20th centuries, a number of “[r]estrictive registration laws
and administrative procedures” came into use across the
2 HUSTED v. A. PHILIP RANDOLPH INSTITUTE
B
REYER, J., dissenting
United States—from literacy tests to the poll tax and from
strict residency requirements to “selective purges.” H. R.
Rep. No. 103–9, p. 2 (1993). Each was designed “to keep
certain groups of citizens from voting” and “discourage
participation.” Ibid. By 1965, the Voting Rights Act
abolished some of the “more obvious impediments to regis-
tration,” but still, in 1993, Congress concluded that it had
“unfinished business” to attend to in this domain. Id., at
3. That year, Congress enacted the National Voter Regis-
tration Act “to protect the integrity of the electoral pro-
cess,” “increase the number of eligible citizens who regis-
ter to vote in elections for Federal office,” and “ensure that
accurate and current voter registration rolls are main-
tained.” §20501(b). It did so mindful that “the purpose of
our election process is not to test the fortitude and deter-
mination of the voter, but to discern the will of the majority.”
S. Rep. No. 103–6, p. 3 (1993).
In accordance with these aims, §8 of the Registration
Act sets forth a series of requirements that States must
satisfy in their “administration of voter registration for
elections for Federal office.” §20507. Ohio’s Supplemental
Process fails to comport with these requirements; it erects
needless hurdles to voting of the kind Congress sought to
eliminate by enacting the Registration Act. Four of §8’s
provisions are critical to this case: subsections (a), (b), (c),
and (d). The text of each subsection is detailed and con-
tains multiple parts. Given the complexity of the statute,
readers should consult these provisions themselves (see
Appendix A, infra, at 21–24) and try to keep the thrust of
those provisions in mind while reading this opinion. At
the outset, I shall address each of them.
A
1
We begin with subsection (a)’s “Reasonable Program”
requirement. That provision says that “each State shall”:
Cite as: 584 U. S. ____ (2018) 3
B
REYER, J., dissenting
“conduct a general program that makes a reasonable
effort to remove the names of ineligible voters from
the official lists of eligible voters by reason of . . . a
change in the residence of the registrant, in accord-
ance with subsections (b), (c), and (d).” §20507(a)(4).
This provision tells each State that it must try to remove
ineligible voters from the rolls, that it must act reasonably
in doing so, and that, when it does so, it must follow the
rules contained in the next three subsections of §8—
namely, subsections (b), (c), and (d).
2
Subsection (b)’s “Failure-to-Vote” Clause generally
forbids state change-of-residence removal programs that
rely upon a registrant’s failure to vote as a basis for re-
moving the registrant’s name from the federal voter roll.
Before 1993, when Congress enacted this prohibition,
many States would assume a registered voter had changed
his address, and consequently remove that voter from the
rolls, simply because the registrant had failed to vote.
Recognizing that many registered voters who do not vote
“may not have moved,” S. Rep. No. 103–6, at 17, Congress
consequently prohibited States from using the failure to
vote as a proxy for moving and thus a basis for purging the
voter’s name from the rolls. The Failure-to-Vote Clause, as
originally enacted, said:
“Any State program or activity to protect the integrity
of the electoral process by ensuring the maintenance
of an accurate and current voter registration roll for
elections for Federal office . . . shall not result in the
removal of the name of any person from the official
list of voters registered to vote in an election for Fed-
eral office by reason of the person’s failure to vote.”
107 Stat. 83; see §20507(b)(2).
As I shall discuss, Congress later clarified that “using
4 HUSTED v. A. PHILIP RANDOLPH INSTITUTE
B
REYER, J., dissenting
the procedures described in subsections (c) and (d) to
remove an individual” from the federal voter roll is per-
missible and does not violate the Failure-to-Vote Clause.
See §8(b)(2) of the National Voter Registration Act, 107
Stat. 83, and as amended, 116 Stat. 1728, 52 U. S. C.
§20507(b)(2).
3
Subsection (c), which is entitled “Voter Removal Pro-
grams,” explains how “[a] State may meet the requirement
of subsection (a)(4).” §20507(c)(1). Because subsection
(a)(4) itself incorporates all of the relevant requirements of
subsections (b), (c), and (d) within it, see §20507(a)(4),
subsection (c) sets forth one way a State can comply with
the basic requirements of §8 at issue in this case (includ-
ing subsection (b)). A State’s removal program qualifies
under subsection (c) if the following two things are true
about the program:
“(A) change-of-address information supplied by the
Postal Service through its licensees is used to identify
registrants whose addresses may have changed; and
“(B) if it appears [that] the registrant has moved to
a different residence address not in the same regis-
trar’s jurisdiction, the registrar uses the notice proce-
dure described in subsection (d)(2) to confirm the
change of address.” §20507(c)(1).
The upshot is that subsection (c) explains one way a State
may comply with subsection (a)’s Reasonable Program
requirement without violating subsection (b)’s Failure-to-
Vote prohibition. It is a roadmap that points to a two-step
removal process. At step 1, States first identify registered
voters whose addresses may have changed; here, subsec-
tion (c) points to one (but not the only) method a State
may use to do so. At step 2, subsection (c) explains,
States must “confirm the change of address” by using a
special notice procedure, which is further described in
Cite as: 584 U. S. ____ (2018) 5
B
REYER, J., dissenting
subsection (d).
4
Subsection (d) sets forth the final procedure, which Ohio
refers to as the “Confirmation Procedure.” Brief for Peti-
tioner 7. The statute makes clear that a State must use
the Confirmation Procedure to “confirm” a change of ad-
dress in respect to any registered voter it initially identi-
fies as someone who has likely changed addresses. It
works as follows: the State must send the registrant iden-
tified as having likely moved a special kind of notice by
forwardable mail. That notice must warn the registrant
that his or her name will be removed from the voter roll
unless the registrant either returns an attached card and
confirms his or her current address in writing or votes in
an election during the period covering the next two federal
elections. In a sense, the notice a State is required to send
as part of the Confirmation Procedure gives registered
voters whom the State has identified as likely ineligible a
“last chance” to correct the record before being removed from
the federal registration list. The Confirmation Procedure is
mandatory for all change-of-residence removals, regard-
less of the method the State uses to make its initial identi-
fication of registrants whose addresses may have changed.
In particular, subsection (d) says:
“A State shall not remove the name of a registrant
from the official list of eligible voters . . . on the
ground that the registrant has changed residence un-
less the registrant [either]—
“(A) confirms in writing that the registrant has
changed residence to a place outside the registrar’s ju-
risdiction in which the registrant is registered; or
“(B)(i) has failed to respond to a notice described in
[subsection (d)(2)]; and (ii) has not voted [in two sub-
sequent federal elections].” §20507(d)(1).
6 HUSTED v. A. PHILIP RANDOLPH INSTITUTE
B
REYER, J., dissenting
Subsection (d)(2) then goes on to describe (in consider-
able detail) the “last chance” notice the State must send to
the registrant. In particular, the notice must be sent by
forwardable mail so that the notice will reach the regis-
trant even if the registrant has changed addresses. It
must include a postage-prepaid, preaddressed “return
card” that the registrant may send back to the State to
confirm or correct the State’s record of his or her current
address. And, the notice must warn the registrant that
unless the card is returned, if the registrant does not vote
in the next two federal elections, then his or her name will
be removed from the list of eligible voters.
* * *
In sum, §8 tells States the following:
• In general, establish a removal-from-registration
program that “makes a reasonable effort” to remove
voters who become ineligible because they change
residences.
• Do not target registered voters for removal from
the registration roll because they have failed to
vote. However, “using the procedures described in
subsections (c) and (d) to remove an individual”
from the federal voter roll is permissible and does
not violate the Failure-to-Vote prohibition.
• The procedures described in subsections (c) and (d)
consist of a two-step removal process in which at
step 1, the State uses change-of-address infor-
mation (which the State may obtain, for instance,
from the Postal Service) to identify registrants
whose addresses may have changed; and then at
step 2, the State must use the mandatory “last
chance” notice procedure described in subsection
(d) to confirm the change of address.
• The “last chance” confirmation notice must be sent
by forwardable mail. It must also include a postage-
Cite as: 584 U. S. ____ (2018) 7
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REYER, J., dissenting
prepaid, preaddressed “return card” that the regis-
trant may send back to the State verifying his or
her current address. And it must warn the regis-
trant that unless the card is returned, if the regis-
trant does not vote in the next two federal elec-
tions, then his or her name will be removed from
the list of eligible voters.
B
The Supplemental Process, Ohio’s program for removing
registrants from the federal rolls on the ground that the
voter has changed his address, is much simpler. Each of
Ohio’s 88 boards of elections sends its version of subsec-
tion (d)’s “last chance” notice to those on a list “of individ-
uals who, according to the board’s records, have not en-
gaged in certain kinds of voter activity”—including
“casting a ballot”—for a period of “generally two years.”
Record 1507. Accordingly, each board’s list can include
registered voters who failed to vote in a single federal
election. And anyone on the list who “continues to be
inactive” by failing to vote for the next “four consecutive
years, including two federal elections,” and fails to respond
to the notice is removed from the federal voter roll. Id., at
1509. Under the Supplemental Process, a person’s failure
to vote is the sole basis on which the State identifies a
registrant as a person whose address may have changed
and the sole reason Ohio initiates a registered voter’s
removal using subsection (d)’s Confirmation Procedure.
II
Section 8 requires that Ohio’s program “mak[e] a rea-
sonable effort to remove” ineligible registrants from the
rolls because of “a change in the residence of the regis-
trant,” and it must do so “in accordance with subsections
(b), (c), and (d).” §20507(a)(4)(B). In my view, Ohio’s
program is unlawful under §8 in two respects. It first
8 HUSTED v. A. PHILIP RANDOLPH INSTITUTE
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REYER, J., dissenting
violates subsection (b)’s Failure-to-Vote prohibition be-
cause Ohio uses nonvoting in a manner that is expressly
prohibited and not otherwise authorized under §8. In
addition, even if that were not so, the Supplemental Pro-
cess also fails to satisfy subsection (a)’s Reasonable Pro-
gram requirement, since using a registrant’s failure to
vote is not a reasonable method for identifying voters
whose registrations are likely invalid (because they have
changed their addresses).
First, as to subsection (b)’s Failure-to-Vote Clause,
recall that Ohio targets for removal registrants who fail to
vote. In identifying registered voters who have likely
changed residences by looking to see if those registrants
failed to vote, Ohio’s program violates subsection (b)’s
express prohibition on “[a]ny State program or activity
[that] result[s] in the removal” of a registered voter “by
reason of the person’s failure to vote.” §20507(b)(2) (em-
phasis added). In my view, these words are most naturally
read to prohibit a State from considering a registrant’s
failure to vote as part of any process “that is used to start,
or has the effect of starting, a purge of the voter rolls.”
H. R. Rep. No. 103–9, at 15. In addition, Congress enacted
the Failure-to-Vote Clause to prohibit “the elimination of
names of voters from the rolls solely due to [a registrant’s]
failure to respond to a mailing.” Ibid. But that is precisely
what Ohio’s Supplemental Process does. The program
violates subsection (b)’s prohibition because under it, a
registrant who fails to vote in a single federal election,
fails to respond to a forwardable notice, and fails to vote
for another four years may well be purged. Record 1508.
If the registrant had voted at any point, the registrant
would not have been removed. See supra, at 7; infra, at
11–14.
Ohio does use subsection (d)’s Confirmation Procedure,
but that procedure alone does not satisfy §8’s require-
ments. How do we know that Ohio’s use of the Confirma-
Cite as: 584 U. S. ____ (2018) 9
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REYER, J., dissenting
tion Procedure alone cannot count as statutorily signifi-
cant? The statute’s basic structure along with its lan-
guage makes clear that this is so.
In respect to language, §8 says that the function of
subsection (d)’s Confirmation Procedure is “to confirm the
change of address” whenever the State has already “iden-
tif[ied] registrants whose addresses may have changed.”
§§20507(c)(1)(A), (d)(2). The function of the Confirmation
Procedure is not to make the initial identification of regis-
trants whose addresses may have changed. As a matter of
English usage, you cannot confirm that an event happened
without already having some reason to believe at least
that it might have happened. Black’s Law Dictionary 298
(6th ed. 1990) (defining “confirm” as meaning “[t]o com-
plete or establish that which was imperfect or uncertain”).
Ohio, of course, says that it has a ground for believing
that those persons they remove from the rolls have, in
fact, changed their address, but the ground is the fact that
the person did not vote—the very thing that the Failure-
to-Vote Clause forbids Ohio to use as a basis for removing
a registered voter from the registration roll.
In respect to structure, two statutory illustrations make
clear what the word “confirm” already suggests, namely,
that the Confirmation Procedure is a necessary but not a
sufficient procedure for removing a registered voter from
the voter roll. The first illustration of how the Confirma-
tion Procedure is supposed to function appears in subsec-
tion (c), which describes a removal process under which
the State first identifies registrants who have likely
changed addresses and then “confirm[s]” that change of
residence using the Confirmation Procedure and sending
the required “last chance” notice. §20507(c)(1) (emphasis
added). The identification method subsection (c) says a
State may use is “change-of-address information supplied
by the Postal Service.” §20507(c)(1)(A). A person does not
notify the Postal Service that he is moving unless he is
10 HUSTED v. A. PHILIP RANDOLPH INSTITUTE
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REYER, J., dissenting
likely to move or has already moved. And, as the Regis-
tration Act says, “if it appears from change-of-address
provided by the Postal Service that . . . the registrant has
moved to a different residence not in the same registrar’s
jurisdiction,” the State has a reasonable (hence acceptable)
basis for “us[ing] the notice procedure described in sub-
section (d)(2) to confirm the change of address.”
§20507(c)(1)(B).
The second illustration of how the Confirmation Proce-
dure is supposed to function appears in a portion of the
statute I have not yet discussed—namely, §6 of the Na-
tional Voter Registration Act, which sets out the rules for
voter registration by mail. See §6, 107 Stat. 80, 52
U. S. C. §20505. In particular, §6(d), entitled “Undeliv-
ered Notices,” says that, “[i]f a notice of the disposition of a
mail voter registration application . . . is sent by nonfor-
wardable mail and is returned undelivered,” at that point
the State “may proceed in accordance with section 8(d),”
namely, the Confirmation Procedure, and send the same
“last chance” notice that I have just discussed. §20505(d)
(emphasis added).
Note that §6(d) specifies a nonforwardable mailing—and
not a forwardable mailing, like one specified in §8(d). This
distinction matters. Why? If a person moves, a forward-
able mailing will be sent along (i.e., “forwarded”) to that
person’s new address; in contrast, a nonforwardable mail-
ing will not be forwarded to the person’s new address but
instead will be returned to the sender and marked “unde-
liverable.” And so a nonforwardable mailing that is re-
turned to the sender marked “undeliverable” indicates
that the intended recipient may have moved. After all, the
Postal Service, as the majority points out, returns mail
marked “undeliverable” if the intended recipient has
moved—not if the person still lives at his old address.
Ante, at 6, and n. 3.
Under §6(d), the Registration Act expressly endorses
Cite as: 584 U. S. ____ (2018) 11
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REYER, J., dissenting
nonforwardable mailings as a reasonable method for
States to use at step 1 to identify registrants whose ad-
dresses may have changed before the State proceeds to
step 2 and sends the forwardable notice required under
subsection (d)’s Confirmation Procedure. Specifically,
§6(d) explains that, if a State sends its registrants a mail-
ing by nonforwardable mail (which States often do), and if
“[that mailing] is returned undelivered,” the State has a
fairly good reason for believing that the person has moved
and therefore “may proceed in accordance with” §8(d) by
sending the “last chance” forwardable notice that the
Confirmation Procedure requires. §20505(d). In contrast
to a nonforwardable notice that is returned undeliverable,
which tells the State that a registrant has likely moved, a
forwardable notice that elicits no response whatsoever
tells the State close to nothing at all. That is because, as I
shall discuss, most people who receive confirmation notices
from the State simply do not send back the “return card”
attached to that mailing—whether they have moved or
not.
In sum, §6(d), just like §§8(a) and 8(c), indicates that the
State, as an initial matter, must use a reasonable method
to identify a person who has likely moved and then must
send that person a confirmatory notice that will in effect
give him a “last chance” to remain on the rolls. And these
provisions thus tend to deny, not to support, the majority’s
suggestion that somehow sending a “last chance” notice is
itself a way (other than nonvoting) to identify someone
who has likely moved.
I concede that some individuals who have, in fact,
moved do, in fact, send a return card back to the State
making clear that they have moved. And some registrants
do send back a card saying that they have not moved.
Thus, the Confirmation Procedure will sometimes help
provide confirmation of what the initial identification
procedure is supposed to accomplish: finding registrants
12 HUSTED v. A. PHILIP RANDOLPH INSTITUTE
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REYER, J., dissenting
who have probably moved. But more often than not, the
State fails to receive anything back from the registrant,
and the fact that the State hears nothing from the regis-
trant essentially proves nothing at all.
Anyone who doubts this last statement need simply
consult figures in the record along with a few generally
available statistics. As a general matter, the problem
these numbers reveal is as follows: Very few registered
voters move outside of their county of registration. But
many registered voters fail to vote. Most registered voters
who fail to vote also fail to respond to the State’s “last
chance” notice. And the number of registered voters who
both fail to vote and fail to respond to the “last chance”
notice exceeds the number of registered voters who move
outside of their county each year.
Consider the following facts. First, Ohio tells us that a
small number of Americans—about 4% of all Americans—
move outside of their county each year. Record 376. (The
majority suggests the relevant number is 10%, ante, at 2,
but that includes people who move within their county.)
At the same time, a large number of American voters fail
to vote, and Ohio voters are no exception. In 2014, around
59% of Ohio’s registered voters failed to vote. See Brief for
League of Women Voters et al. as Amici Curiae 16, and
n. 12 (citing Ohio Secretary of State, 2014 Official Election
Results).
Although many registrants fail to vote and only a small
number move, under the Supplemental Process, Ohio uses
a registrant’s failure to vote to identify that registrant as a
person whose address has likely changed. The record
shows that in 2012 Ohio identified about 1.5 million regis-
tered voters—nearly 20% of its 8 million registered vot-
ers—as likely ineligible to remain on the federal voter roll
because they changed their residences. Record 475. Ohio
then sent those 1.5 million registered voters subsubsection
(d) “last chance” confirmation notices. In response to
Cite as: 584 U. S. ____ (2018) 13
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REYER, J., dissenting
those 1.5 million notices, Ohio only received back about
60,000 return cards (or 4%) which said, in effect, “You are
right, Ohio. I have, in fact, moved.” Ibid. In addition,
Ohio received back about 235,000 return cards which said,
in effect, “You are wrong, Ohio, I have not moved.” In the
end, however, there were more than 1,000,000 notices—the
vast majority of notices sent—to which Ohio received back
no return card at all. Ibid.
What about those registered voters—more than 1 mil-
lion strong—who did not send back their return cards? Is
there any reason at all (other than their failure to vote) to
think they moved? The answer to this question must be
no. There is no reason at all. First, those 1 million or so
voters accounted for about 13% of Ohio’s voting popula-
tion. So if those 1 million or so registered voters (or even
half of them) had, in fact, moved, then vastly more people
must move each year in Ohio than is generally true of the
roughly 4% of all Americans who move to a different county
nationwide (not all of whom are registered voters). See
Id., at 376. But there is no reason to think this. Ohio
offers no such reason. And the streets of Ohio’s cities are
not filled with moving vans; nor has Cleveland become the
Nation’s residential moving companies’ headquarters.
Thus, I think it fair to assume (because of the human
tendency not to send back cards received in the mail,
confirmed strongly by the actual numbers in this record)
the following: In respect to change of residence, the failure
of more than 1 million Ohio voters to respond to forward-
able notices (the vast majority of those sent) shows nothing
at all that is statutorily significant.
To put the matter in the present statutory context:
When a State relies upon a registrant’s failure to vote to
initiate the Confirmation Procedure, it violates the Failure-
to-Vote Clause, and a State’s subsequent use of the Con-
firmation Procedure cannot save the State’s program from
that defect. Even if that were not so, a nonreturned con-
14 HUSTED v. A. PHILIP RANDOLPH INSTITUTE
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REYER, J., dissenting
firmation notice adds nothing to the State’s understanding
of whether the voter has moved or not. And that, I repeat,
is because a nonreturned confirmation notice (as the num-
bers show) cannot reasonably indicate a change of address.
Finally, let us return to §8’s basic mandate and purpose.
Ohio’s program must “mak[e] a reasonable effort to remove
the names of ineligible voters” from its federal rolls on
change-of-residence grounds. §20507(a)(4) (emphasis
added). Reasonableness under §8(a) is primarily meas-
ured in terms of the program’s compliance with “subsec-
tions (b), (c), and (d).” §20507(a)(4)(B). That includes the
broad prohibition on removing registrants because of their
failure to vote. More generally, the statute seeks to “pro-
tect the integrity of the electoral process” and “ensure that
accurate and current voter registration rolls are main-
tained.” §§20501(b)(3), (4). Ohio’s system adds to its non-
voting-based identification system a factor that has no
tendency to reveal accurately whether the registered voter
has changed residences. Nothing plus one is still one.
And, if that “one” consists of a failure to vote, then Ohio’s
program also fails to make the requisite “reasonable ef-
fort” to comply with subsection (a)’s statutory mandate. It
must violate the statute.
III
The majority tries to find support in two provisions of a
different statute, namely, the Help America Vote Act of
2002, 116 Stat. 1666, the pertinent part of which is re-
printed in Appendix B, infra, at 25–26. The first is enti-
tled “Clarification of Ability of Election Officials To Re-
move Registrants From Official List of Voters on Grounds
of Change of Residence.” §903, id., at 1728. That provi-
sion was added to the National Voter Registration Act’s
Failure-to-Vote Clause, subsection (b)(2), which says that
a State’s registrant removal program “shall not result in
the removal of the name of any person from the official list
Cite as: 584 U. S. ____ (2018) 15
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REYER, J., dissenting
. . . by reason of the person’s failure to vote.” §20507(b)(2);
see supra, at 3. The “Clarification” adds:
“except that nothing in this paragraph may be con-
strued to prohibit a State from using the procedures
described in subsections (c) and (d) to remove an indi-
vidual from the official list of eligible voters if the in-
dividual—(A) has not either notified the applicable
registrar (in person or in writing) or responded . . . to
the [confirmation] notice sent by the applicable regis-
trar; and then (B) has not voted or appeared to vote in
2 or more consecutive general elections for Federal of-
fice.” §903, id., at 1728 (emphasis added).
This amendment simply clarified that the use of nonvot-
ing specified in subsections (c) and (d) does not violate the
Failure-to-Vote Clause. The majority asks why, if the
matter is so simple, Congress added the new language at
all. The answer to this question is just what the title
attached to the new language says, namely, Congress
added the new language for purposes of clarification. And
the new language clarified any confusion States may have
had about the relationship between, on the one hand,
subsection (b)’s broad prohibition on any use of a person’s
failure to vote in removal programs and, on the other
hand, the requirement in subsections (c) and (d) that a
State consider whether a registrant has failed to vote at
the end of the Confirmation Procedure. This reading finds
support in several other provisions in both the National
Voter Registration Act and the Help America Vote
Act, which make similar clarifications. See, e.g.,
§20507(c)(2)(B) (clarifying that a particular prohibition
“shall not be construed to preclude” States from comply-
ing with separate statutory obligations); see also
§§20510(d)(2) (similar rule of construction), 21081(c)(1),
21083(a)(1)(B), (a)(2)(A)(iii), (b)(5), (d)(1)(A)–(B); 21084.
The majority also points out that another provision of
16 HUSTED v. A. PHILIP RANDOLPH INSTITUTE
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the Help America Vote Act, §303. See §303(a)(4), 116 Stat.
1708, 52 U. S. C. §21083(a)(4). That provision once again
reaffirms that a State’s registration list-maintenance
program must “mak[e] a reasonable effort to remove regis-
trants who are ineligible to vote” and adds that “consistent
with the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 . . . regis-
trants who have not responded to a notice and who have
not voted in 2 consecutive general elections for Federal
office shall be removed from the official list of eligible
voters, except that no registrant may be removed solely by
reason of a failure to vote.” §21083(a)(4)(A) (emphasis
added).
The majority tries to make much of the word “solely.”
But the majority makes too much of too little. For one
thing, the Registration Act’s Failure-to-Vote Clause under
subsection (b) does not use the word “solely.” And §303 of
the Help America Vote Act tells us to interpret its lan-
guage (which includes the word “solely”) “consistent with
the” Registration Act. §21083(a)(4)(A). For another, the
Help America Vote Act says that “nothing in this [Act]
may be construed to authorize or require conduct prohib-
ited under [the National Voter Registration Act], or to su-
persede, restrict or limit the application of . . . [t]he Na-
tional Voter Registration Act.” §21145(a)(4).
The majority’s view of the statute leaves the Registra-
tion Act’s Failure-to-Vote Clause with nothing to do in
respect to change-of-address programs. Let anyone who
doubts this read subsection (d) (while remaining aware of
the fact that it requires the sending of a confirmation
notice) and ask himself or herself: What else is there for
the Failure-to-Vote Clause to do? The answer is nothing.
Section 8(d) requires States to send a confirmation notice
for all change-of-address removals, and, in the majority’s
view, failing to respond to that forwardable notice is al-
ways a valid cause for removal, even if that notice was
sent by reason of the registrant’s initial failure to vote.
Cite as: 584 U. S. ____ (2018) 17
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REYER, J., dissenting
Thus the Failure-to-Vote Clause is left with no independ-
ent weight since complying with subsection (d) shields a
State from violating subsection (b). To repeat the point,
under the majority’s view, the Failure-to-Vote Clause is
superfluous in respect to change-of-address programs:
subsection (d) already accomplishes everything the major-
ity says is required of a State’s removal program—namely,
the sending of a notice.
Finally, even if we were to accept the majority’s premise
that the question here is whether Ohio’s system removes
registered voters from the registration list “solely by rea-
son of a failure to vote,” that would not change anything.
As I have argued, Part II, supra, the failure to respond to
a forwardable notice is an irrelevant factor in terms of
what it shows about whether that registrant changed his
or her residence. To add an irrelevant factor to a failure to
vote, say, a factor like having gone on vacation or having
eaten too large a meal, cannot change Ohio’s sole use of
“failure to vote” into something it is not.
IV
J
USTICE THOMAS, concurring, suggests that my reading
of the statute “
‘raises serious constitutional doubts.’ ”
Ante, at 1 (quoting Jennings v. Rodriguez, 583 U. S. ___,
___ (2018) (slip op., at 2)). He believes that it “would
seriously interfere with the States’ constitutional authority
to set and enforce voter qualifications.” Ante, at 2. At the
same time, the majority “assume[s]” that “Congress has
the constitutional authority to limit voting eligibility
requirements in the way respondents suggest.” Ante, at
16, n. 5. But it suggests possible agreement with J
USTICE
THOMAS, for it makes this assumption only “for the sake of
argument.” Ibid.
Our cases indicate, however, that §8 neither exceeds
Congress’ authority under the Elections Clause, Art. I, §4,
nor interferes with the State’s authority under the Voter
18 HUSTED v. A. PHILIP RANDOLPH INSTITUTE
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Qualification Clause, Art. 1, §2. Indeed, this Court’s
precedents interpreting the scope of congressional authority
under the Elections Clause make clear that Congress has
the constitutional power to adopt the statute before us.
The Elections Clause states:
“The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections
for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed
in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Con-
gress may at any time by Law make or alter such
Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Sena-
tors.” U. S. Const., Art. I, §4, cl. 1.
The Court has frequently said that “[t]he Clause’s sub-
stantive scope is broad,” and that it “empowers Congress
to pre-empt state regulations governing the ‘Times, Places
and Manner’ of holding congressional elections.” Arizona
v. Inter Tribal Council of Ariz., Inc., 570 U. S. 1, 8 (2013).
We have long held that “[t]he power of Congress over the
‘Times, Places and Manner’ of congressional elections ‘is
paramount, and may be exercised at any time, and to any
extent which it deems expedient; and so far as it is exer-
cised, and no farther, the regulations effected supersede
those of the State which are inconsistent therewith.’
” Id.,
at 9 (quoting Ex parte Siebold, 100 U. S. 371, 392 (1880)).
The words “
‘Times, Places, and Manner,’ ” we have said,
are “
‘comprehensive words’ ” that “ ‘embrace authority to
provide a complete code for congressional elections.’
”
Tribal Council, supra, at 8–9 (quoting Smiley v. Holm, 285
U. S. 355, 366 (1932)). That “complete code” includes the
constitutional authority to enact “regulations relating to
‘registration.’
” Ibid.; see also Cook v. Gralike, 531 U. S.
510, 524 (2001) (same); Roudebush v. Hartke, 405 U. S. 15,
24–25 (1972). That is precisely what §8 does.
Neither does §8 tell the States “who may vote in” federal
elections. Tribal Council, 570 U. S., at 16. Instead, §8
considers the manner of registering those whom the State
Cite as: 584 U. S. ____ (2018) 19
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REYER, J., dissenting
itself considers qualified. Unlike the concurrence, I do not
read our precedent as holding to the contrary. But see id.,
at 26 (T
HOMAS, J., dissenting). And, our precedent strongly
suggests that, given the importance of voting in a democ-
racy, a State’s effort (because of failure to vote) to remove
from a federal election roll those it considers otherwise
qualified is unreasonable. Cf. Carrington v. Rash, 380
U. S. 89, 91–93, 96 (1965) (State can impose “reasonable
residence restrictions on the availability of the ballot” but
cannot forbid otherwise qualified members of military to
vote); see also Kramer v. Union Free School Dist. No. 15,
395 U. S. 621, 625 (1969) (“States have the power to im-
pose reasonable citizenship, age, and residency require-
ments on the availability of the ballot” (emphasis added));
Harper v. Virginia Bd. of Elections, 383 U. S. 663, 668
(1966) (“To introduce wealth or payment of a fee as a
measure of a voter’s qualifications is to introduce a capri-
cious or irrelevant factor”).
For these reasons, with respect, I dissent.
20 HUSTED v. A. PHILIP RANDOLPH INSTITUTE
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REYER, J., dissenting
APPENDIXES
A
The National Voter Registration Act of 1993
“S
EC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
“(a) F
INDINGS.—The Congress finds that—
“(1) The right of citizens of the United States to vote is a
fundamental right;
“(2) it is the duty of the Federal, State, and local gov-
ernments to promote the exercise of that right; and
“(3) discriminatory and unfair registration laws and
procedures can have a direct and damaging effect on voter
participation in elections for Federal office and dispropor-
tionately harm voter participation . . . , including racial
minorities.
“(b) P
URPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are—
“(1) to establish procedures that will increase the num-
ber of eligible citizens who register to vote in elections for
Federal office;
“(2) to make it possible for Federal, State, and local
governments to implement this Act in a manner that
enhances the participation of eligible citizens as voters in
elections for Federal office;
“(3) to protect the integrity of the electoral process; and
“(4) to ensure that accurate and current voter registra-
tion rolls are maintained.” 107 Stat. 77.
“S
EC. 5. SIMULTANEOUS APPLICATION FOR VOTER
REGISTRATION AND APPLICATION FOR MOTOR VEHICLE
DRIVER’S LICENSE.
“(d) C
HANGE OF ADDRESS.—Any change of address form
submitted in accordance with State law for purposes of a
State motor vehicle driver's license shall serve as notifica-
tion of change of address for voter registration with re-
spect to elections for Federal office for the registrant in-
Appendix A to opinion of BREYER, J.
Cite as: 584 U. S. ____ (2018) 21
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volved unless the registrant states on the form that the
change of address is not for voter registration purposes.”
Id., at 79.
“S
EC. 6. MAIL REGISTRATION.
“(d) U
NDELIVERED NOTICES. If a notice of the disposi-
tion of a mail voter registration application under section
8(a)(2) is sent by nonforwardable mail and is returned
undelivered, the registrar may proceed in accordance with
section 8(d).” Id., at 80.
“S
EC. 8. REQUIREMENTS WITH RESPECT TO ADMINI-
STRATION OF VOTER REGISTRATION.
“(a) I
N GENERAL—In the administration of voter regis-
tration for elections for Federal office, each State shall—
“(1) ensure that any eligible applicant is registered to
vote in an election—
. . . . .
“(2) require the appropriate State election official to
send notice to each applicant of the disposition of the
application;
“(3) provide that the name of a registrant may not be
removed from the official list of eligible voters except—
“(A) at the request of the registrant;
“(B) as provided by State law, by reason of criminal
conviction or mental incapacity; or
“(C) as provided under paragraph (4);
“(4) conduct a general program that makes a reasonable
effort to remove the names of ineligible voters from the
official lists of eligible voters by reason of—
“(A) the death of the registrant; or
“(B) a change in the residence of the registrant, in ac-
cordance with subsections (b), (c), and (d);
. . . . .
“(b) C
ONFIRMATION OF VOTER REGISTRATION.—Any
State program or activity to protect the integrity of the
Appendix A to opinion of BREYER, J.
22 HUSTED v. A. PHILIP RANDOLPH INSTITUTE
B
REYER, J., dissenting
electoral process by ensuring the maintenance of an accu-
rate and current voter registration roll for elections for
Federal office—
“(1) shall be uniform, nondiscriminatory, and in compli-
ance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U. S. C. 1973
et seq.); and
“(2) shall not result in the removal of the name of any
person from the official list of voters registered to vote in
an election for Federal office by reason of the person’s
failure to vote.
“(c) V
OTER REMOVAL PROGRAMS.—(1) A State may meet
the requirement of subsection (a)(4) by establishing a
program under which—
“(A) change-of-address information supplied by the
Postal Service through its licensees is used to identify
registrants whose addresses may have changed; and
“(B) if it appears from information provided by the
Postal Service that—
“(i) a registrant has moved to a different residence ad-
dress in the same registrar's jurisdiction in which the
registrant is currently registered, 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 by
which the registrant may verify or correct the address
information; or
“(ii) the registrant has moved to a different residence
address not in the same registrar's jurisdiction, the regis-
trar uses the notice procedure described in subsection
(d)(2) to confirm the change of address.
“(2)(A) A State shall complete, not later than 90 days
prior to the date of a primary or general election for Fed-
eral office, any program the purpose of which is to system-
atically remove the names of ineligible voters from the
official lists of eligible voters.
“(B) Subparagraph (A) shall not be construed to pre-
Appendix A to opinion of BREYER, J.
Cite as: 584 U. S. ____ (2018) 23
B
REYER, J., dissenting
clude—
“(i) the removal of names from official lists of voters on a
basis described in paragraph (3)(A) or (B) or (4)(A) of
subsection (a); or
“(ii) correction of registration records pursuant to this
Act.
“(d) R
EMOVAL OF NAMES FROM VOTING ROLLS.—“(1) A
State shall not remove the name of a registrant from the
official list of eligible voters in elections for Federal office
on the ground that the registrant has changed residence
unless the registrant—
“(A) confirms in writing that the registrant has changed
residence to a place outside the registrar’s jurisdiction in
which the registrant is registered; or
“(B)(i) has failed to respond to a notice described in
paragraph (2); and
“(ii) has not voted or appeared to vote (and, if necessary,
correct the registrar's record of the registrant's address) in
an election during the period beginning on the date of the
notice and ending on the day after the date of the second
general election for Federal office that occurs after the
date of the notice.
“(2) A notice is described in this paragraph if it is a
postage prepaid and pre-addressed return card, sent by
forwardable mail, on which the registrant may state his or
her current address, together with a notice to the following
effect:
“(A) If the registrant did not change his or her residence,
or changed residence but remained in the registrar’s juris-
diction, the registrant should return the card not later
than the time provided for mail registration under subsec-
tion (a)(1)(B). If the card is not returned, affirmation or
confirmation of the registrant’s address may be required
before the registrant is permitted to vote in a Federal
election during the period beginning on the date of the
notice and ending on the day after the date of the second
Appendix A to opinion of BREYER, J.
24 HUSTED v. A. PHILIP RANDOLPH INSTITUTE
B
REYER, J., dissenting
general election for Federal office that occurs after the
date of the notice, and 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.
“(B) If the registrant has changed residence to a place
outside the registrar’s jurisdiction in which the registrant
is registered, information concerning how the registrant
can continue to be eligible to vote.
“(3) A voting registrar shall correct an official list of
eligible voters in elections for Federal office in accordance
with change of residence information obtained in conform-
ance with this subsection.” Id., at 82–84.
Appendix A to opinion of BREYER, J.
Cite as: 584 U. S. ____ (2018) 25
B
REYER, J., dissenting
B
The Help America Vote Act of 2002
“S
EC. 303. COMPUTERIZED STATEWIDE VOTER
REGISTRATION LIST REQUIREMENTS AND REQUIRE-
MENTS FOR VOTERS WHO REGISTER BY MAIL.
“(a) COMPUTERIZED STATEWIDE VOTER REGISTRATION
LIST REQUIREMENTS.—
. . . . .
“(4) MINIMUM STANDARD FOR ACCURACY OF STATE
VOTER REGISTRATION RECORDS.—The State election sys-
tem shall include provisions to ensure that voter registra-
tion records in the State are accurate and are updated
regularly, including the following:
“(A) A system of file maintenance that makes a reason-
able effort to remove registrants who are ineligible to vote
from the official list of eligible voters. Under such system,
consistent with the National Voter Registration Act of
1993 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg et seq.), registrants who have not
responded to a notice and who have not voted in 2 consec-
utive general elections for Federal office shall be removed
from the official list of eligible voters, except that no regis-
trant may be removed solely by reason of a failure to vote.
“(B) Safeguards to ensure that eligible voters are not
removed in error from the official list of eligible voters.”
116 Stat. 1708–1710.
Appendix B to opinion of BREYER, J.
26 HUSTED v. A. PHILIP RANDOLPH INSTITUTE
B
REYER, J., dissenting
“SEC. 903. CLARIFICATION OF ABILITY OF ELECTION
OFFICIALS TO REMOVE REGISTRANTS FROM OFFICIAL
LIST OF VOTERS ON GROUNDS OF CHANGE OF
RESIDENCE.
“Section 8(b)(2) of the National Voter Registration Act of
1993 . . . is amended by striking the period at the end and
inserting the following: ‘‘, except that nothing in this
paragraph may be construed to prohibit a State from
using the procedures described in subsections (c) and (d) to
remove an individual from the official list of eligible voters
if the individual—
‘‘(A) has not either notified the applicable registrar (in
person or in writing) or responded during the period de-
scribed in subparagraph (B) to the notice sent by the
applicable registrar; and then
‘‘(B) has not voted or appeared to vote in 2 or more
consecutive general elections for Federal office.’’ Id., at
1728.
“S
EC. 906. NO EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.
“(a) I
N GENERAL.— . . . [N]othing in this Act may be
construed to authorize or require conduct prohibited under
any of the following laws, or to supersede, restrict, or limit
the application of such laws [including]:
. . . . .
“(4) The National Voter Registration Act of 1993.” Id.,
at 1729.
Appendix B to opinion of BREYER, J.
Cite as: 584 U. S. ____ (2018) 1
S
OTOMAYOR, J., dissenting
SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
_________________
No. 16–980
_________________
JON HUSTED, OHIO SECRETARY OF STATE,
PETITIONER v. A. PHILIP RANDOLPH
INSTITUTE,
ET AL.
ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF
APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT
[June 11, 2018]
JUSTICE SOTOMAYOR, dissenting.
I join the principal dissent in full because I agree that
the statutory text plainly supports respondents’ interpre-
tation. I write separately to emphasize how that reading
is bolstered by the essential purposes stated explicitly in
the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA) to
increase the registration and enhance the participation
of eligible voters in federal elections. 52 U. S. C.
§§20501(b)(1)–(2). Congress enacted the NVRA against
the backdrop of substantial efforts by States to disenfran-
chise low-income and minority voters, including programs
that purged eligible voters from registration lists because
they failed to vote in prior elections. The Court errs in
ignoring this history and distorting the statutory text to
arrive at a conclusion that not only is contrary to the plain
language of the NVRA but also contradicts the essential
purposes of the statute, ultimately sanctioning the very
purging that Congress expressly sought to protect against.
Concerted state efforts to prevent minorities from voting
and to undermine the efficacy of their votes are an unfor-
tunate feature of our country’s history. See Schuette v.
BAMN, 572 U. S. 291, 337–338 (2014) (S
OTOMAYOR, J.,
dissenting). As the principal dissent explains, “[i]n the
late 19th and early 20th centuries, a number of
2 HUSTED v. A. PHILIP RANDOLPH INSTITUTE
S
OTOMAYOR, J., dissenting
‘[r]estrictive registration laws and administrative proce-
dures’ came to use across the United States.” Ante, at 1–2
(opinion of B
REYER, J.). States enforced “poll tax[es],
literacy tests, residency requirements, selective purges,
. . . and annual registration requirements,” which were
developed “to keep certain groups of citizens from voting.”
H. R. Rep. No. 103–9, p. 2 (1993). Particularly relevant
here, some States erected procedures requiring voters to
renew registrations “whenever [they] moved or failed to
vote in an election,” which “sharply depressed turnout,
particularly among blacks and immigrants.” A. Keyssar,
The Right To Vote 124 (2009). Even after the passage of
the Voting Rights Act in 1965, many obstacles remained.
See ante, at 2 (opinion of B
REYER, J.).
Congress was well aware of the “long history of such list
cleaning mechanisms which have been used to violate the
basic rights of citizens” when it enacted the NVRA.
S. Rep. No. 103–6, p. 18 (1993). Congress thus made clear
in the statutory findings that “the right of citizens of the
United States to vote is a fundamental right,” that “it is
the duty of the Federal, State, and local governments to
promote the exercise of that right,” and that “discrimina-
tory and unfair registration laws and procedures can have
a direct and damaging effect on voter participation . . . and
disproportionately harm voter participation by various
groups, including racial minorities.” 52 U. S. C. §20501(a).
In light of those findings, Congress enacted the NVRA
with the express purposes of “increas[ing] the number of
eligible citizens who register to vote” and “enhanc[ing] the
participation of eligible citizens as voters.” §§20501(b)(1)–
(2). These stated purposes serve at least in part to coun-
teract the history of voter suppression, as evidenced by
§20507(b)(2), which forbids “the removal of the name of
any person from the official list of voters registered to vote
in an election for Federal office by reason of the person’s
failure to vote.” Ibid.
Cite as: 584 U. S. ____ (2018) 3
S
OTOMAYOR, J., dissenting
Of course, Congress also expressed other objectives, “to
protect the integrity of the electoral process” and “to en-
sure that accurate and current voter registration rolls are
maintained.” §§20501(b)(3)–(4).* The statute contem-
plates, however, that States can, and indeed must, further
all four stated objectives. As relevant here, Congress
crafted the NVRA with the understanding that, while
States are required to make a “reasonable effort” to re-
move ineligible voters from the registration lists,
§20507(a)(4), such removal programs must be developed in
a manner that “prevent[s] poor and illiterate voters from
being caught in a purge system which will require them to
needlessly re-register” and “prevent[s] abuse which has a
disparate impact on minority communities,” S. Rep. No.
103–6, at 18.
Ohio’s Supplemental Process reflects precisely the type
of purge system that the NVRA was designed to prevent.
Under the Supplemental Process, Ohio will purge a regis-
trant from the rolls after six years of not voting, e.g., sit-
ting out one Presidential election and two midterm elec-
tions, and after failing to send back one piece of mail, even
though there is no reasonable basis to believe the individ-
ual actually moved. See ante, at 14 (B
REYER, J., dissent-
ing). This purge program burdens the rights of eligible
voters. At best, purged voters are forced to “needlessly
reregister” if they decide to vote in a subsequent election;
at worst, they are prevented from voting at all because
they never receive information about when and where
——————
*
The majority characterizes these objectives as ones to “remov[e]
ineligible persons from the States’ voter registration rolls,” ante, at 2,
but maintaining “accurate” rolls and “protecting the integrity of the
electoral process” surely encompass more than just removing ineligible
voters. An accurate voter roll and fair electoral process should also
reflect the continued enrollment of eligible voters. In this way, the
NVRA’s enhanced-participation and accuracy-maintenance goals are to
be achieved simultaneously, and are mutually reinforcing.
4 HUSTED v. A. PHILIP RANDOLPH INSTITUTE
S
OTOMAYOR, J., dissenting
elections are taking place.
It is unsurprising in light of the history of such purge
programs that numerous amici report that the Supple-
mental Process has disproportionately affected minority,
low-income, disabled, and veteran voters. As one example,
amici point to an investigation that revealed that in Ham-
ilton County, “African-American-majority neighborhoods
in downtown Cincinnati had 10% of their voters removed
due to inactivity” since 2012, as “compared to only 4% of
voters in a suburban, majority-white neighborhood.” Brief
for National Association for the Advancement of Colored
People et al. as Amici Curiae 18–19. Amici also explain at
length how low voter turnout rates, language-access prob-
lems, mail delivery issues, inflexible work schedules, and
transportation issues, among other obstacles, make it
more difficult for many minority, low-income, disabled,
homeless, and veteran voters to cast a ballot or return a
notice, rendering them particularly vulnerable to unwar-
ranted removal under the Supplemental Process. See
Brief for Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC et
al. as Amici Curiae 15–26; Brief for National Disability
Rights Network et al. as Amici Curiae 17, 21–24, 29–31;
Brief for VoteVets Action Fund as Amicus Curiae 23–30.
See also Brief for Libertarian National Committee as
Amicus Curiae 19–22 (burdens on principled nonvoters).
Neither the majority nor Ohio meaningfully dispute that
the Supplemental Process disproportionately burdens
these communities. At oral argument, Ohio suggested
that such a disparate impact is not pertinent to this case
because respondents did not challenge the Supplemental
Process under §20507(b)(1), which requires that any re-
moval program “be uniform, nondiscriminatory, and in
compliance with the Voting Rights Act.” Tr. of Oral Arg.
23. The fact that respondents did not raise a claim under
§20507(b)(1), however, is wholly irrelevant to our assess-
ment of whether, as a matter of statutory interpretation,
Cite as: 584 U. S. ____ (2018) 5
S
OTOMAYOR, J., dissenting
the Supplemental Process removes voters “by reason of the
person’s failure to vote” in violation of §20507(b)(2). Con-
trary to the majority’s view, ante, at 20–21, the NVRA’s
express findings and purpose are highly relevant to that
interpretive analysis because they represent “the assumed
facts and the purposes that the majority of the enacting
legislature . . . had in mind, and these can shed light on
the meaning of the operative provisions that follow.” A.
Scalia & B. Garner, Reading Law 218 (2012). Respond-
ents need not demonstrate discriminatory intent to estab-
lish that Ohio’s interpretation of the NVRA is contrary to
the statutory text and purpose.
In concluding that the Supplemental Process does not
violate the NVRA, the majority does more than just mis-
construe the statutory text. It entirely ignores the history
of voter suppression against which the NVRA was enacted
and upholds a program that appears to further the very
disenfranchisement of minority and low-income voters
that Congress set out to eradicate. States, though, need
not choose to be so unwise. Our democracy rests on the
ability of all individuals, regardless of race, income, or
status, to exercise their right to vote. The majority of
States have found ways to maintain accurate voter rolls
without initiating removal processes based solely on an
individual’s failure to vote. See App. to Brief for League of
Women Voters of the United States et al. as Amici Curiae
1a–9a; Brief for State of New York et al. as Amici Curiae
22–28. Communities that are disproportionately affected
by unnecessarily harsh registration laws should not toler-
ate efforts to marginalize their influence in the political
process, nor should allies who recognize blatant unfairness
stand idly by. Today’s decision forces these communities
and their allies to be even more proactive and vigilant in
holding their States accountable and working to dismantle
the obstacles they face in exercising the fundamental right
to vote.
