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2021 Regular Session
SENATE BILL NO. 219
BY SENATOR CLOUD
Prefiled pursuant to Article III, Section 2(A)(4)(b)(i) of the Constitution of Louisiana.
VOTERS/VOTING. Provides relative to voter rolls. (8/1/21)
1 AN ACT
2 To amend and reenact R.S. 18:192(A)(2) and to enact R.S. 18:192(A)(3), relative to
3 registrars of voters; to provide for canvassing of registrants; to provide for address
4 changes and corrections; and to provide for related matters.
5 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
6 Section 1. R.S. 18:192(A)(2) is hereby amended and reenacted and R.S.
7 18:192(A)(3) is hereby enacted to read as follows:
8 ยง192. Annual canvass; costs
9 A. * * *
10 (2)(a) In addition to the canvass required pursuant to Paragraph (1) of
11 this Subsection, beginning with the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022, in each
12 parish with a publicly owned utility operating within the parish or in any
13 portion of the parish, the registrar of voters may annually canvass the names
14 of the registrants in all precincts in the area served by the utility using customer
15 information provided by the entity operating the utility. A verification by the
16 registrar shall constitute a valid canvass of the registered voter.
17 (b) In conducting the verification, if the utility operator provides a
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Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
words in boldface type and underscored are additions. SB NO. 219
SLS 21RS-425 ENGROSSED
1 corrected address inside the parish, the registrar of voters may make the change
2 on his records. If a change is made, the registrar shall mail a new voter
3 identification card to the voter using the corrected address provided and an
4 address confirmation card as provided in R.S. 18:193. In the event the new
5 voter identification card using the corrected address is returned to the registrar
6 and the voter has failed to return the address confirmation card, the registrar
7 shall consider the address not corrected. His records should be changed to
8 reflect the prior address on file for that voter. If the corrected address is outside
9 the parish, the registrar of voters shall not make the change on his records and
10 shall send an address confirmation card as provided in R.S. 18:193.
11 (2)(3) For a registrant whose address was not verified or whose corrected
12 address is outside the parish, the registrar shall send an address confirmation card as
13 set forth in R.S. 18:193.
14 * * *
The original instrument was prepared by LG Sullivan. The following digest,
which does not constitute a part of the legislative instrument, was prepared
by Matt DeVille.
DIGEST
DIGEST
SB 219 Engrossed 2021 Regular Session Cloud
Present law requires annual canvassing of registrants by each registrar. Provides for the
canvass through the Dept. of State, utilizing the United States Postal Service to verify names
and addresses of registrants in all precincts.
Proposed law retains present law and allows each registrar in a parish with a publicly owned
utility to canvass registrants living in a precinct in the utility service area using customer
information provided by the public utility.
Present law provides for the registrar to use an address confirmation card to notify a person
that the registrar has reason to believe he has changed addresses and, if applicable, that the
person is no longer qualified to be registered.
Proposed law retains present law.
Effective August 1, 2021.
(Amends R.S. 18:192(A)(2); adds R.S. 18:192(A)(3))
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Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
words in boldface type and underscored are additions. SB NO. 219
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Summary of Amendments Adopted by Senate
Committee Amendments Proposed by Senate Committee on Senate and
Governmental Affairs to the original bill
1. Makes annual canvass of utility records permissive.
2. Removes provisions making failure to conduct the canvass willful
misconduct.
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Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law;
words in boldface type and underscored are additions.