Voting After You Move: A Guide

– 08/19/2010

When Americans register to vote, their voter registrations are linked to their residential address. When registered voters move, they are supposed to update their registration records with election officials before voting. Some voters who fail to update their registration addresses before Election Day, however, should be able to cast ballots that will count. Whether and when a voter who moves without notifying election officials can successfully vote depend on the laws and rules of each particular state. This Guide is designed to help voters and advocates navigate the diverse patchwork of state laws governing voters who move. For each state, this guide answers the following questions:

I moved to another state. What should I do?
I moved within my state. What should I do if I moved within my county or town? If I moved to a different county or town?
The election is right around the corner and I never updated my registration after my move. What should I do if I moved nearby? If I moved within my county or town? If I moved to a different county or town?

To learn the voting rules for movers in each state, please click on the appropriate state name below.

Massachusetts

When Voters Move

Acknowledgments

This Guide was created in large part from a Brennan Center publication entitled “When Voters Move.” Jennifer Bindel and Craig Davis made substantial research and editorial contributions to that publication, which was complemented by research assistance from Roshni Chaudhari, Ashley Allison, Danielle Friedman, Dina Hardy, and Elliot Tarloff. This updated Guide would not have been possible without the research assistance of Matt Robinson, Amanda Rolat, Neal Ubriani, and Hai-Ching Yang; and the editorial assistance of Hannah Kieschnick.

A special thanks to the Brennan Center’s Jafreen Uddin, Maria da Silva, Deborah Francois, Chris Ponoroff, Nhu-Y Ngo, Wendy Weiser, Susan Liss, and Jeanine Plant-Chirlin for their assistance. The Brennan Center for Justice sincerely appreciates the assistance and cooperation of the election officials who allowed themselves to be interviewed for this report, and gratefully extends our thanks.

Generous grants from Carnegie Corporation of New York; The Education Foundation of America; the Ford Foundation; the Irving Harris Foundation; the Joyce Foundation; the Mitchell Kapor Foundation; the Open Society Institute; the Charles H. Revson Foundation; the Rockefeller Family Fund; the Tides Foundation; the Wallace Global Fund; and an anonymous donor supported the development and publication of "When Voters Move" and this guide. The statements made and the views expressed in this paper are solely the responsibility of the Brennan Center.

About the Author

Myrna Pérez is Senior Counsel for the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center for Justice. Ms. Pérez works on a variety of voting rights related issues, including redistricting, voter registration list maintenance, and access to the ballot box.