Not trying to fan the flames of whether voter ID laws ought to be toughened or not, but I wonder: I registered to vote in CT when I turned 18, then in NJ after college, then in TX when I was transferred there for work, then in IL when I took my current job. But at no time have I ever unregistered. During this past election cycle NJ was kind enough to send me a voter information flyer letting me know who the candidates were and where my voting station was. They also this week sent me a juror summons, I'm guessing based on the voter registration list - and yes, I've let them know I'm ineligible to serve as I am not a resident. So - does NJ (or TX, or CT) count me as a no-show when I don't vote there? Does my failure to vote in 3 out of 4 states contribute to the seemingly low turnout of registered voters? Is it even possible to unregister? Would it be so bad to ask people to reconfirm their voting status every couple of years so that this sort of thing doesn't clog up the voter rolls?

This problem could be addressed by having a national voter registration system

I was thinking of somethng much less contoversial - such as sending out a confirmation notice asking "do you want to remain registered?" If I answer no, they take me off the roll. If I don't answer, then no change is made. In other words a voluntary opt-out system. No one could claim voter suppression as a motive for this.

How about a somewhat positive response system such as we require you to reregister, a negative response system often gets ignored, and no change means the dud registration remains. They will always claim voter suppression no matter what you do, but cleaning up the rolls would make predicting the outcome clearer

Generally the citizen has to remove their name from the registration list under Section 8 provisions of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA)


A "removal at the request of the registrant" under the NVRA involves first-hand information from a registrant that can originate in at least three ways: 1) an unsolicited direct request from the registrant to remove his or her name from the voting registration list, 2) a registrant completing and returning a confirmation card indicating an address change outside the jurisdiction, or 3) a registrant submitting a new application registering to vote a second time in a new jurisdiction, and providing information regarding the registrant's prior voter registration address on the new application, which the State can treat as a request to cancel or transfer his or her prior registration. A registrant advising of a new address within the same jurisdiction, or registering to vote a second time at a new address within the same jurisdiction, should trigger an updating of the original registration, rather than its cancellation.

Maybe it's just rhetorical but does the system work?

It's the national standard you say we need . NVRA was passed in 1995 .
The idea behind it was that States could not automatically clear the voter rolls .
Civil Rights Division NVRA FAQs

Yes, I see where you are coming from, but reading the piece, at least one voter has difficulty, surely the system asks whether you are registering for the first time, or have registered previously. I suppose that no matter what you legislate, someone can choose to ignore you. In any case someone can ask for confirmation and delete those who don't confirm

@ebaines: brother I have seen here a question based on engineering mechanics that is to find the resultant of some given forces. The way you solved it was awesome.your solution was easier to understand and it contains simple steps.I am an engineering student and now my main is mechanics.I would like to be in touch with you.