Voter List Maintenance

Voter list maintenance is the process of removing voters from the voter registration list or party affiliation lists. In Kansas, it is the responsibility of the county election officer to remove names of voters who have died or become disqualified from voting. The Secretary of State must provide information to county election officers regarding disqualification of voters.

National Voter Registration Act

The National Voter Registration Act (NVRA, and also known as the “motor voter” act) requires states to conduct voter list maintenance to remove deceased individuals from voter rolls and requires states to have processes in place to remove voters in the instance of certain events, such as change of residence, death, felony conviction, or mental incapacitation in accordance with state law.

The NVRA prohibits states from removing registered voters from voter lists within 90 days of a primary or general election for federal office unless other factors require such removal. The NVRA also prohibits states from canceling voter registration based solely on a failure to vote.

Kansas Voter List Maintenance Provisions

The process for voter list maintenance in Kansas statute mirrors requirements outlined in the NVRA.

KSA 2020 Supp. 25-2316c(d) specifies registered voters cannot be removed from registration lists because they changed residence, unless:

• The voter confirms, in writing, that they have moved outside of the county in which they are registered or has registered to vote in any other jurisdiction; or
• Both of the following have occurred:
  • The voter has failed to respond to a notice from a county election officer that, based on information from the U.S. Postal Service, such voter has moved to a residence outside of the county where they are currently registered; and
  • The voter has not voted in an election during the period beginning on the date of such notice from the election officer and ending on the day after the date of the second federal general election occurring after the date of such notice.

KSA 25-2316c(f) requires a voter’s registration to be void when such voter dies or is disqualified from voting. The county election officer is required to remove from the registration books and from the party affiliation list any registered voter:

• Who appears in an obituary notice in a newspaper having general circulation in the county reporting the death of such voter;
• Who requests in writing that their name be removed from registration;
• Whose name is ordered removed from registration lists by a court of competent jurisdiction;
• Whose name appears on a list of deceased residents compiled by the Secretary of Health and Environment or appears on a copy of a death certificate provided by the Secretary of Health and Environment; or
• Whose name appears in information provided by the Social Security Administration showing such voter to be deceased.

Additionally, KSA 2020 Supp. 25-2316c(g) requires the Secretary of State, within five days of receiving written notice of a felony conviction in a U.S. District court, to notify the county election officer in the jurisdiction in which such offender resides. The county election officer must remove the name of the offender from the registration records upon receiving such notice of a felony conviction from the Secretary of State, a county district attorney, or a Kansas district court. A person convicted of a felony may re-register to vote when all terms of the sentence have been completed (KSA 2020 Supp. 21-6613).