RÉSUMÉ DIGEST
HB 35 2022 Regular Session Farnum
Present law requires each registrar of voters to conduct an annual canvass of registered voters
in order to update voter registration records. Elements of the annual canvass include:
(1)A requirement that the Dept. of State use the U.S. Postal Service or its licensee to
verify names and addresses of registered voters.
(2)A requirement that the registrar of voters send an address confirmation card to each
registrant whose address is not verified or whose corrected address is outside of the
parish and place the names of such registrants on the inactive list of voters.
Proposed law would have required the Dept. of State to conduct an annual supplemental
canvass, after the canvass provided for by present law, in order to update voter registration
records. Elements of the supplemental canvass would have included:
(1)A requirement that the secretary of state identify registered voters for whom there
was not a corrected address pursuant to the initial canvass and who had not
participated in an election, updated their registration information, or taken other
specified actions in the previous 10 years.
(2)A requirement that the secretary of state send such persons an address confirmation
card and place the names of such registrants on the inactive list of voters.
Elements of present law, which would also have applied to proposed law, include:
(1)A requirement that the registrar transfer the registration information of a voter who
has permanently moved to a different parish to the new parish of residence.
(2)A requirement that the registrar cancel the registration of a voter who has
permanently moved outside the state.
(3)A requirement that the registrar cancel the registration of a voter who is on the
inactive list of voters and who fails to confirm his address prior to the second
regularly scheduled federal general election after his name is placed on the list.
(4) A requirement for the publication of the names and addresses of registrants on the
inactive list of voters from each parish in the official journal of or other newspaper
in the parish 90 days prior to each regularly scheduled federal primary election.
(5)A requirement that a list of names and addresses of persons to whom confirmation
cards are sent and whether or not each person responded to the confirmation card
shall be maintained for a period of two years and shall be open to inspection.
(Proposed to amend R.S. 18:196(A)(1) and (D); Proposed to add R.S. 18:192.1)
VETO MESSAGE: "This bill is similar to House Bill 138 of the 2021 Regular Session.
Like the 2021 version of this bill, House Bill 35 would require the Secretary of State to
conduct a supplemental annual canvas of voters. The canvas provided for in this bill is
called a "supplemental canvas" because the registrar of voters in each parish is already
required to conduct an annual canvas pursuant to La. R.S. 18:192. I vetoed the 2021 version
of this bill because it was simply unnecessary and would make it easier to remove eligible
voters from the rolls. I have vetoed House Bill 35 for the same reason."