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Indiana registered voters receive postcards from state as part of voter roll cleanup

By Brandon Smith, IPB News | Published on in Community, Government, Politics
The Indiana Election Division sends out postcards to registered voters as part of its effort to clean up the voter rolls. (Lauren Chapman/IPB News)

Indiana registered voters will be getting a postcard in their mailbox soon – if they haven’t already – from the Indiana Election Division as part of voter roll maintenance.

States are required to regularly “clean up” their voter rolls – ensuring people who have moved or died, for instance, are either removed or have their information updated.

Federal law also governs how states clean their rolls. The postcard mailing is the most common. If you receive a postcard and it correctly lists your name and address, you don’t have to do anything.

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However, if the postcard gets returned to the Election Division as undeliverable, a second mailing is sent out. That second postcard asks the voter to update or cancel their registration.

If that second mailing comes back as undeliverable and nothing else happens, a person’s registration can still only be canceled if they haven’t voted in two, consecutive federal elections.

Brandon is our Statehouse bureau chief. Contact him at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.