§193. Challenge and cancellation of registration; notice; procedures

A. When the registrar has reason to believe that a registrant no longer is qualified to be registered, or that a registrant has changed his residence, he shall immediately notify the person by sending the address confirmation card to the registrant and place the voter on the inactive list of voters. However, a person shall not be placed on the inactive list of voters if there is address information available to the registrar from the United States Postal Service or its licensee which indicates the voter has moved to another address within the parish.

B. For the purposes of this Section, "address confirmation card" shall mean a postage prepaid and pre-addressed return card, sent by forwardable mail. The Department of State shall be responsible for developing the address confirmation card and for informing the registrant about his voting rights under the address confirmation process and the address confirmation card shall be submitted by the Department of State to the House and Governmental Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives and the Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee of the Senate for review.

C. If the registrant responds to the address confirmation card and has not moved or has moved within the parish, the registrar shall remove the person's name from the inactive list of voters if it is on the inactive list and correct the voter's address if necessary.

D.(1) If the voter responds to the address confirmation card and has permanently moved to a different parish, the registrar shall transfer the voter's registration information to the new parish of residence.

(2) If the voter responds to the address confirmation card and has permanently moved outside the state, the registrar shall cancel the voter's registration.

E. A voter on the inactive list of voters who fails to respond to the address confirmation card shall remain on the inactive list of voters until his address is confirmed in accordance with the procedures set forth in R.S. 18:196 or not later than a period of two regularly scheduled federal general elections, at which time the registrar shall cancel the voter's registration.

F. A list of names and addresses to whom address confirmation notices are sent and whether or not each person responded to the confirmation notice shall be maintained for a period of two years and shall be open to inspection and copying as provided in R.S. 18:154. Ninety days prior to a regularly scheduled federal primary election, the names and addresses of those persons on the inactive list shall be published for one day in the official journal of the parish governing authority or in a newspaper calculated to provide maximum notice in the parish.

G.(1) If the registrar has reason to believe that the name of a person has been illegally or fraudulently placed upon the registration records or that a registrant no longer is qualified to be registered for a reason other than a change of residence or address, or that the registrant has deliberately given an incorrect address, he shall immediately notify the person. The notice shall be mailed first class, postage prepaid, to the address on file at the registrar's office.

(2) The notice shall state the alleged irregularity in the registration and shall inform the person that he must appear in person at the office of the registrar of voters within twenty-one days after the date on which the notice was mailed to show cause why his name should not be removed.

(3) If the registrant fails to appear within the required twenty-one days, the registrar shall cancel his name from the list of eligible voters. If the registrant appears and shows cause within the twenty-one days, the registrar shall not cancel the registration.

(4) Records of such activity shall be maintained in accordance with the provisions provided in Subsection F of this Section.

H. If the registrar determines that a voter's registration has been cancelled through error of the registrar, the registrar shall reinstate the voter's registration as though the cancellation had never occurred and shall notify the registrant of the reinstatement.

I. For the purposes of this Section, "residence address" shall mean the registrant's place of residence except in the case of a registrant to whom the United States Postal Service will not deliver mail to his place of residence, it shall mean the registrant's mailing address.

Acts 1976, No. 697, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1978; Acts 1985, No. 225, §1; Acts 1986, No. 669, §1; Acts 1987, No. 831, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1988; Acts 1987, No. 890, §1; Acts 1989, No. 179, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1990; Acts 1994, 3rd Ex. Sess., No. 10, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1995; Acts 1997, No. 1420, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1998; Acts 2001, No. 1181, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2002; Acts 2004, No. 526, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2005; Acts 2008, No. 136, §1, eff. June 6, 2008; Acts 2008, No. 519, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2009; Acts 2010, No. 570, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2011; Acts 2016, No. 281, §2, eff. Jan. 1, 2017.