The Act also requires notification of all applicants of whether their voter registration applications were accepted or rejected. The Act requires States to keep voter registration lists accurate and current, such as identifying persons who have become ineligible due to having died or moved outside the jurisdiction. At the same time, the Act requires list maintenance programs to incorporate specific safeguards, e.g., that they be uniform, non-discriminatory, in compliance with the Voting Rights Act, and not be undertaken within 90 days of a federal election. The removal of voters for non-voting or for having moved can only be done after meeting certain requirements provided in the Act. The Act allows for removal of voters from registration lists when they have been convicted of a disqualifying crime or adjudged mentally incapacitated, where such removals are allowed by state law. The NVRA also provides additional safeguards under which registered voters would be able to vote notwithstanding a change in address in certain circumstances. For example, voters who move within a district or a precinct will retain the right to vote even if they have not re-registered at their new address. The NVRA became effective in most states on January 1, 1995. The Act applies to 44 states and the District of Columbia.
Section 4(b) of the Act provided that states were exempt from the Act if, as of August 1, 1994, they had no voter registration requirements or had election-day registration at polling places. These six states are Idaho, Minnesota, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. In addition, the Act granted additional time to Arkansas, Vermont, and Virginia to comply because they needed to change their constitutions in order to comply with the Act and maintain a unitary registration system for federal and state elections.