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Sponsors seek earlier NCOA delivery to give registrars 90 days to review changes
Summary
Rep. Jerry Ward said moving receipt of the USPS NCOA list to at least 90 days before an election would give supervisors and registrars time to review potential moves and preserve voters’ rights; the deputy secretary of state recommended twice-yearly uploads and warned 90-day timing could overlap across many elections.
Representative Jerry Ward (Rockingham 27) introduced House Bill 341 to change the statute that governs when supervisors of the checklist receive the National Change of Address (NCOA) list from the Secretary of State. Ward said moving the receipt date to at least 90 days before an election would give registrars and supervisors enough time to review entries and avoid situations like 2024, when a list arrived only days before a primary.
Ward, whose wife serves as a town registrar, told the committee NCOA lists can contain temporary or misleading entries (for example, a voter using a PO box, UOCAVA addresses, or seasonal moves) and each listed voter needs individual assessment. "Evaluating such changes in address carefully takes time and requires caution," Ward said.
Deputy Secretary Erin Hennessy told lawmakers the office now plans to provide NCOA updates twice a year and that the process is not inexpensive: the vendor-based matching runs statewide data against the USPS feed and municipal supervisors must individually review entries. Hennessy warned a 90-day-before-every-election trigger could fall frequently because smaller municipalities have town, school and other elections year round, and the 90-day windows could overlap.
Committee members asked whether the statute intends an annual or election-tied process; the sponsor and deputy secretary discussed clarifying language in executive session. Hennessy said her office planned two runs in 2025 (June and November) and would propose alternate scheduling if the committee prefers. Online testimony showed substantial public support, Ward said.
