Maryland Election Law Section 3-504

CAUTION: READ FULL TEXT OF SECTION FOR SPECIAL NOTE

      (a)      (1)      In this section the following words have the meanings indicated.

            (2)      "Confirmation notice" means a notice, approved by the State Board, that is sent by forwardable mail with a return card.

            (3)      "Return card" means a postage prepaid and preaddressed card on which the voter may report the voter's current address.

      (b)      Upon receiving any information that a voter currently registered in the State has moved to a different address within the State, the appropriate election director shall change the voter's record and send the voter a confirmation notice.

      (c)      If it appears from information provided by the postal service or an agency specified in § 3-505(b) of this subtitle that a voter has moved to a different address outside the State, the election director in the county where the voter is most recently registered shall send the voter a confirmation notice informing the voter of his or her potential inactive status as described in subsection (f) of this section.

      (d)      Upon receipt of a return card, the election director shall make any needed corrections in the local board's records to reflect the voter's current residence.

      (e)      The election director may not remove a voter from the registry on the grounds of a change of address unless:

            (1)      the voter's registration has been transferred to another county;

            (2)      the voter confirms in writing that the voter has changed residence to a location outside the State; or

            (3)      (i)      the voter has failed to respond to a confirmation notice under subsection (c) of this section; and

                  (ii)      the voter has not voted or appeared to vote (and, if necessary, corrected the record of the voter's address) in an election during the period beginning with the date of the notice through the next two general elections.

      (f)      (1)      If a voter fails to respond to a confirmation notice under subsection (c) of this section, the voter's name shall be placed on a list of inactive voters.

            (2)      Upon written affirmation that an inactive voter remains a resident of the State, the voter may be allowed to vote either at the election district or precinct for the voter's current residence or the voter's previous residence, as determined by the State Board, and shall be restored to the registry.

            (3)      An inactive voter who fails to vote in an election in the period ending with the second general election shall be removed from the registry.

            (4)      Individuals whose names have been placed on the inactive list may not be counted as part of the registry.

            (5)      Registrants placed on the inactive list shall be counted only for purposes of voting and not for official administrative purposes including petition signature verification, establishing precincts, and reporting official statistics.

** SPECIAL NOTE: EFFECTIVE - JANUARY 1, 2006 - CHAPTER 572 - 2005 **

      (a)      (1)      (i)      Information from the agencies specified in this paragraph shall be reported to the State Administrator in a format and at times prescribed by the State Board.

                  (ii)      The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene shall report the names and residence addresses (if known) of all individuals at least 16 years of age reported deceased within the State since the date of the last report.

                  (iii)      The clerk of the circuit court for each county and the administrative clerk for each District Court shall report the names and addresses of all individuals convicted, in the respective court, of theft or infamous crimes since the date of the last report.

                  (iv)      The clerk of the circuit court for each county shall report the former and present names and residence addresses (if known) of all individuals whose names have been changed by decree or order of the court since the date of the last report.

            (2)      The State Administrator shall make arrangements with the clerk of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland to receive reports of names and addresses, if available, of individuals convicted of infamous crimes in that court.

      (b)      (1)      The State Administrator shall transmit to the appropriate local board information gathered pursuant to subsection (a) of this section.

            (2)      Every agency or instrumentality of any county which acquires or condemns or razes or causes to be condemned or razed any building used as a residence within the county shall promptly report this fact and the location of the building to the local board in the county or city.

            (3)      Registration cancellation information provided by an applicant on any voter registration application shall be provided to the appropriate local board by the State Administrator or another local board.

            (4)      A local board may:

                  (i)      make arrangements to receive change of address information from an entity approved by the State Board; and

                  (ii)      pay a reasonable fee to the entity for the information.

      (c)      (1)      Whenever a local board becomes aware of an obituary or any other reliable report of the death of a registered voter, the election director shall mail a notice to the registered voter, as prescribed by the State Board, to verify whether the voter is in fact deceased.

            (2)      On receipt of a verification of the death of a voter, provided in accordance with the notice mailed under paragraph (1) of this subsection, the election director may remove the voter from the statewide voter registration list under § 3-501 of this subtitle.