Voter Purge Protection Act
This bill, titled the Voter Purge Protection Act, would revise the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to curb what it sees as improper purges of registered voters. Specifically, it would bar states from removing a person from the official list of registered voters solely because the person failed to vote or because the person changed residence within the state. Removal would instead require objective, reliable evidence of ineligibility (such as death or permanently moving out of the state). The bill also requires timely notices and opportunities to contest removals, and it creates protections to allow within-state address updates up to election day. In short, the bill aims to reduce purge-driven disenfranchisement by limiting purge triggers tied to inactivity or in-state address changes, while preserving removals when a voter is truly ineligible or has moved out of the state. Key features include: (1) a new standard for removing voters (only when supported by objective evidence of ineligibility, with inactivity-based triggers largely disallowed); (2) explicit prohibition on using failure to vote or failure to respond to mail as evidence of ineligibility; (3) a requirement that removals based on death or out-of-state relocation include an opportunity to demonstrate eligibility and reinstatement; (4) mandatory notices to removed individuals and public notice of purge activities; (5) a rule that states may not send removal notices unless there is objective evidence the voter has permanently changed residence outside the registrar’s jurisdiction; and (6) within-state voter portability provisions allowing a voter who moved within the same state to vote using their current address after affirming the change before an election official.
Key Points
- 1New Section 8A adds specific “Conditions for Removal of Voters from Official List,” limiting removals to cases supported by objective and reliable evidence of ineligibility; disallows using failure to vote, failure to respond to election mail (unless undeliverable), or other inaction as proof of ineligibility.
- 2Purge restrictions: removals based solely on inaction (e.g., not voting) or not updating status are generally not allowed; removals may proceed only if official records show death or permanent move out of the state, with an opportunity for the registrant to demonstrate eligibility and be reinstated.
- 3Notice and public disclosure: requires removal notices within 48 hours of removal, with information on how to contest or reinstate; requires 48-hour public notice of general list maintenance activities and accessible formats for voters with disabilities.
- 4Transmission of removal notices: states may not send removal notices unless there is objective and reliable evidence that the registrant has changed residence to a location outside the registrar’s jurisdiction.
- 5Conforming amendments: adjusts cross-references in the National Voter Registration Act and the Help America Vote Act to incorporate the new 8A framework.
- 6Effective date: the amendments take effect on the date of enactment.
- 7State registration portability: Section 4 adds a provision allowing a voter who moved within the same state to vote using their current address if they affirm the change of address before an election official, either at the polling place or at a central location within the registrar’s jurisdiction; effective immediately upon enactment.