Voter Roll and Poll Book Maintenance

Voter Roll Maintenance

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

Federal law places strict limits on how states conduct voter roll maintenance. The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA or “motor voter law”) requires states to conduct list maintenance in a uniform and non-discriminatory manner in compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and prohibits the conduct of list maintenance verification activities within 90 days of an election. The NVRA limits states from removing a voter from the rolls to the following reasons:

• At the voter’s request;
• The voter’s felony conviction;
• The voter’s mental incapacity; or
• The voter has moved to an address outside the voter registration agency’s jurisdiction.

Federal Guidelines

The NVRA specifies the following process for evaluating inactive voters:

• States must mail an address confirmation to the voter. This confirmation is non-forwardable;
• If the voter returns the card verifying they still live at the old address, no change is made to the registration record;
• If the voter returns the card verifying a new address outside the jurisdiction, the old registration is canceled, and election officials often send information to the voter about how to register in the new jurisdiction;
• In many states, if the voter fails to respond within a specified period, that voter is placed on an inactive list; and
• Once a voter is on the inactive list, election officials can only remove the voter from the registration list if the voter fails to vote, update their address, or engage in other election activity—such as signing a candidate or initiative petition—for a period including two federal general elections (four years).

Kansas Guidelines

Voter roll issues are resolved by each of the 105 county election officials. The county election officer is required to keep the records of registration at all times, with separate voter rolls for each precinct and township to be updated before each election (KAR 7-23-2).

County election officers must send a confirmation notice to a registrant within 45 days of certain events, including notification from the National Change of Address program that a voter’s address may have changed or if a registrant has no election-related activity for any four-calendar-year period (KSA 25-2316c). The county election officer is able to remove a voter from the rolls if the registrant has not appeared to vote in an election between the date of the notice and the day after the second federal general election since the notice, and:

A registrant fails to respond to the confirmation notice; or
A registrant had no election-related activity for any four-calendar-year period, and the confirmation notice sent by the county election officer is returned as undeliverable.

Poll Book Maintenance

Traditionally, voting jurisdictions have had paper poll books that contain a list of eligible voters in the district or precinct. As of 2024, electronic poll books, which typically come in the form of a laptop or tablet, are used in place of paper poll books in at least 42 states and the District of Columbia.

Electronic poll books typically provide various functions, including allowing voters to sign in electronically, providing real-time updates of voter history, and notifying poll workers if a voter already voted absentee or during the early voting period.

In Kansas, electronic poll books’ information comes from the voter roll. If someone is removed from the registration list, they are also removed from the poll book.

Additionally, electronic poll books must be stored in a secure facility in which no single individual may enter to ensure the equipment’s security (KAR 7-21-1). The county election officer must also maintain records of all usage and repair history for each electronic poll book, including the date and nature of each repair or upgrade.