As you probably know, the voting process begins by completing a voter registration form. But what you might not know is how much work is involved with maintaining the voter roll. There is a big body of federal and state laws that govern what we can and cannot do with any one voter’s file. Voter registration list maintenance requires elections officials to constantly monitor and update the voter roll and protect voters from improper removal from the list.

As county elections officials in California, our office is responsible for maintaining a current list of registered voters in our county and providing periodic reports to the Secretary of State. The voter roll changes from day to day. People move, turn 18, die, and have other life events that affect their registration. We have rules for residency for our military and overseas voters, who are very likely to change addresses often. We also have people who leave home temporarily but intend to come back to the County–they, too, have a right to be registered here even if they need to get their ballot mailed somewhere else.

Remember when we talked about voter registration qualifications in Issue 3? When a new voter turns 18, becomes a new citizen, or moves into the county, we get a notification that there’s a new registrant. Our office will get a message, primarily from the Department of Motor Vehicles, that there’s a new voter in town. But there are many sources for new registrations, and we must update the voter roll based on registrations from all sources. That includes DMV and other public service agencies, online voter registration, paper registrations from individuals, get out the vote organizations, and other sources. We’re always glad to welcome new voters!

And sometimes, a voter becomes disqualified from voting in the county or even the state. People are placed on the inactive or canceled list, or are otherwise removed, everyday. Here are the main reasons why the voter roll changes and what we’d do about it:

Voter moves. Most commonly, the voter moves and the registration must be updated. If you’ve moved out of state, then you definitely shouldn’t be registered to vote in California. If you moved to another county, then you should be registered in that county. We even want to know if you’ve moved across town or another part of Nevada County because it may affect the choices on your ballot. 

In most cases, our office gets a notification from the US Postal Service or from the Department of Motor Vehicles when you move. (We’ll also take requests from you directly! But we’re guessing that talking to the Elections Office is the last thing on your mind when you’re packing up the house.) If you move within Nevada County, then we simply update your registration information when we receive that notification. If you move to another county, then we’ll provide all the information we have about your registration and voting history to your new county. If you move out of state, we’ll send you a postcard that lets you know that we will cancel your registration unless you tell us that the information we got is wrong. 

Voter passes away. Losing a loved one is always tough and you’re probably not thinking, “geez I should cancel my loved one’s registration” as you go through the grieving process. If a Nevada County citizen passes away, we will receive a notification (primarily from the Department of Public Health) that a voter should be canceled. We then send a postcard with a notice that we will cancel the voter’s registration. 

Voter is currently incarcerated for a felony. If a voter gets in trouble with the law, that in itself is not disqualifying for registration purposes. However, if they are incarcerated for a felony, then our office will receive a notification from the Department of Corrections that a voter is no longer qualified to vote. We then send a postcard asking for updated information or else we will cancel the voter’s registration.

We also receive notifications when a voter with a felony conviction is no longer incarcerated. If their last known address was in Nevada County, then our office will reach out and let them know that they are now qualified to vote. 

Voter is disqualified by court order due to a conservatorship. If a voter is a conservator, that in itself does not disqualify that person from voting. However, sometimes a court order establishing a conservatorship also includes disqualification from voting. Similar to the way we process disqualification for felonies, we must inform the voter of their disqualification. We will also reach out to the voter if the court orders that the person is qualified to vote.

With all these reasons for a person being added to or removed from the voter roll, you can see how our elections team keeps pretty busy throughout the year! 

Just like anywhere else, Nevada County citizens experience lots of life changes. We hope that you think of us when you experience a life change because you are our best source of information! But if you forget about us, that’s alright too–chances are, we’ll hear about any changes that you make from one of the many sources of registration that we get.