ENROLLED
2022 Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 35
BY REPRESENTATIVE FARNUM
1 AN ACT
2 To amend and reenact R.S. 18:196(A)(1) and (D) and to enact R.S. 18:192.1, relative to the
3 annual canvass of persons registered to vote; to provide for a supplemental annual
4 canvass of persons registered to vote; to provide relative to an inactive list of voters;
5 to provide for updating voter registration information; to provide for an effective
6 date; and to provide for related matters.
7 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
8 Section 1. R.S. 18:196(A)(1) and (D) are hereby amended and reenacted and R.S.
9 18:192.1 is hereby enacted to read as follows:
10 §192.1. Supplemental annual canvass
11 A. Each year, once the registrars have sent address confirmation cards as set
12 forth in R.S. 18:192(A)(2), the Department of State shall conduct the supplemental
13 annual canvass set forth in this Section.
14 B. The purpose of the supplemental annual canvass is to identify other
15 registrants who have moved and need to update their voter registration records to
16 reflect their current addresses.
17 C. The secretary of state shall identify, from information available in the
18 state voter registration computer system, registrants to whom all the following apply:
19 (1) The registrant's name did not appear with a corrected address provided
20 by the United States Postal Service or its licensee under R.S. 18:192(A)(1)(b).
21 (2) The registrant has not voted in an election in the past ten years.
22 (3) The registrant failed to engage in any of the following activities in the
23 past ten years: make an application for voter registration; receive an absentee ballot;
24 validly sign a petition submitted to the registrar of voters for certification pursuant
25 to law; change a name, address, or party affiliation or nonaffiliation; make any other
26 change in registration; or participate in the nursing home program.
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1 D. The Department of State shall send to the registrants so identified a
2 "supplemental address confirmation card" and place the registrant on the inactive list
3 of voters.
4 E. For the purposes of this Section, "supplemental address confirmation
5 card" means a postage prepaid and pre-addressed return card, sent by forwardable
6 mail. The Department of State is responsible for developing the supplemental
7 address confirmation card and shall submit it to the House Committee on House and
8 Governmental Affairs and the Senate Committee on Senate and Governmental
9 Affairs for review. The department is also responsible for informing the registrant
10 about his voting rights under the supplemental address confirmation process.
11 F. If a registrant responds to the supplemental address confirmation card and
12 has not moved or has moved within the parish, the registrar shall remove the
13 registrant's name from the inactive list of voters if it is on the inactive list and correct
14 the registrant's address if necessary.
15 G.(1) If a registrant responds to the supplemental address confirmation card
16 and has permanently moved to a different parish, the registrar shall transfer the
17 registrant's registration information to the parish of residence.
18 (2) If a registrant responds to the supplemental address confirmation card
19 and has permanently moved outside the state, the registrar shall cancel the
20 registrant's registration.
21 H. A registrant on the inactive list of voters who fails to respond to the
22 supplemental address confirmation card shall remain on the inactive list of voters
23 until his address is confirmed in accordance with the procedures set forth in R.S.
24 18:196 or not later than a period of two regularly scheduled federal general elections,
25 at which time the registrar shall cancel the registrant's registration.
26 I. A list of names and addresses to whom supplemental address confirmation
27 cards are sent and whether or not each registrant responded to the confirmation card
28 shall be maintained for a period of two years and shall be open to inspection and
29 copying as provided in R.S. 18:154. Ninety days prior to a regularly scheduled
30 federal primary election, the names and addresses of those registrants on the inactive
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1 list shall be published for one day in the official journal of the parish governing
2 authority or in a newspaper calculated to provide maximum notice in the parish.
3 * * *
4 §196. Inactive list of voters; procedure for voting
5 A.(1) In addition to the official list of voters, there shall be an inactive list
6 of voters which shall consist of registrants who have been mailed an address
7 confirmation or a supplemental address confirmation card. The names of registrants
8 on the inactive list of voters shall not be counted in computing the number of ballots
9 required for an election, the number of voters required to divide or constitute a
10 precinct, the number of signatures required on any petition, the number of
11 commissioners at a precinct pursuant to R.S. 18:425, the number of voting machines
12 to be allocated and used in each voting precinct pursuant to R.S. 18:1363, or the
13 number of registered voters necessary to recognize or determine the organization of
14 a political party or committee.
15 * * *
16 D. If a registrant who has failed to respond to an address confirmation card
17 or a supplemental address confirmation card and whose name appears on the inactive
18 list of voters does not vote in any election from the date he is placed on the inactive
19 list of voters until the day after the second regularly scheduled general election for
20 federal office held after such date, the registrar shall cancel the registration of the
21 registrant.
22 Section 2. This Act shall become effective on March 31, 2023.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
APPROVED:
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