Commission adopts revised voter list-maintenance policy aligned with state law

The Davidson County Election Commission unanimously approved an updated voter list-maintenance policy that restates statutory procedures in simpler language, administrators said. Administrator Jeff Roberts described the draft as a plain-language version of the state-recommended policy: “We wanted to change it so that it was less legal sounding and more something that you could hand to someone, and they could read it and go, okay. I think I've got how this works.” The policy explains circumstances under which officials may mark a voter inactive or remove a registrant from the rolls and the steps the office will take before removal. Roberts said one change driven by the state legislature now lets elections offices begin list-maintenance steps for registrants who have not voted in two consecutive November elections. “Starting the process means we make them inactive and we send them a letter. That doesn't prevent them from voting,” Roberts said, noting a voter who responds to the letter or votes will be restored to active status. The policy also describes the process the office follows when the state provides a match suggesting a registrant is a non-U.S. citizen. Roberts said the state sends a list based on records matches, the county sends a notice, and the recipient has 30 days to provide documentation of citizenship. Roberts noted administrators will accept documentation even if it arrives after the 30-day window and, when provided, the office will use the naturalization date as the registration date. Roberts said the state matches Department of Safety driver-license citizenship flags and Social Security Administration deceased-person matches; the office is working to communicate to newly naturalized citizens that they need to update the Department of Safety record so matches to the state do not continue to flag them incorrectly. Commissioners asked whether the policy had been approved previously; Roberts said a prior version following the state's draft had been approved and that the current version mainly restates the same statutory steps in plainer language. Commissioners voted to approve the rewritten policy by voice vote. The commission referenced TCA provisions cited in the packet (transcript cites “TCA 2 2 1 0 6 and 2 2 1 41”); Roberts said the policy follows state law and the state coordinator's recommended draft. The commission did not change statutory requirements and the policy does not add new legal authority.