5-208. Transfer of registration and enrollment. 1. The board of elections shall transfer the registration and enrollment of any voter for whom it receives a notice of change of address to another address in the same county or city, or for any voter who casts a ballot in an affidavit ballot envelope which sets forth such a new address. Such notices shall include, but not be limited to, notices received from any state agency which conducts a voter registration program pursuant to the provisions of sections 5-211 and 5-212 of this title, that the voter has notified such agency of a change of address in the same city or county unless the voter has indicated that such change of address is not for voter registration purposes, notices of change of address from the United States Postal Service through the National Change of Address System, any notices of a forwarding address on mail sent to a voter by the board of elections and returned by the postal service, national or state voter registration forms, confirmation mailing response cards, United States Postal Service notices to correspondents of change of address, applications for registration from persons already registered in such county or city, or any other notices to correspondents sent to the board of elections by such voters.
2. Upon receipt of such a notice, the board shall compare the signature (if any) and other information with the signature and other information on the registration record on file. If such signature and other information appears to be correct, the board shall change the address of the voter in all the records of such board.
3. If such a notice is received at least twenty days before a primary, special or general election, such change of address must be completed before such election.
4. If such application for registration from a voter already registered in such county or city also reflects a change of enrollment, the board of elections shall treat such application as an application for change of enrollment pursuant to section 5-304 of this article.
5. As soon as practicable, after it transfers a voter's registration, the board of elections shall send the voter, by forwardable first class or return postage guaranteed mail, a notice advising him of the transfer in a form which is similar to the notice sent to new registrants pursuant to the provisions of section 5-210 of this title and which has been approved by the state board of elections. If the notice of change of address did not contain the voter's signature, such notice shall include a postage paid return card, in a form prescribed by the state board of elections, on which the voter may notify the board of elections of any correction of address, together with a statement on such notice and on the return card that the voter should return such card only if the address to which the notice was sent is not the voter's current address.
6. If a notice sent pursuant to subdivision five of this section is returned by the postal service as undeliverable and without a forwarding address, the board of elections shall return the registration of such voter to the original address, send such voter a confirmation notice pursuant to the provisions of subdivision one of section 5-712 of this title and place such voter in inactive status.
7. The board of elections shall preserve such notices of change of address for as long as registration records are otherwise required to be preserved or, if the computer readable records maintained by the board of elections include a complete copy of such notice, the board shall preserve the original notice for a period of at least two years or such longer period as the state board of elections may require.
8. If the board of elections receives notice of a change of address within such city or county from, or with respect to, a person who it determines is not registered in such county or city, it shall forthwith send such person a notice to that effect in a form approved by the state board of elections at the new address set forth in such notice of change of address, together with a voter registration form.
Last modified: February 3, 2019