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House approves substitute to tighten voter-roll cleanup; GOP sponsor says USPS return will be the trigger
Summary
The House adopted a substituted version of House Bill 253 changing the voter-roll cleanup process so a neutral verification notice is sent after nonvoting; only an undeliverable return from the U.S. Postal Service triggers the federal-notice step that can lead to removal. The substitute passed 46–27.
The Utah House on Friday approved a substituted version of House Bill 253 that revises how county clerks clean up voter registration lists, voting 46–27 to send the measure to the Senate.
Representative Craig Powell, the bill sponsor, said the substitute preserves a neutral first-step verification and relies on a U.S. Postal Service return as the key trigger for the federal National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) removal process. “It doesn't say why they've been sent the notice. It doesn't say you failed to vote,” Powell said, arguing the initial mailing merely asks voters to confirm their address.
The substitute creates a two-step approach. After a registrant fails to vote in two consecutive general elections, county clerks must send a neutral verification mailing asking residents to confirm their street address. If that mailing is returned as undeliverable by the U.S. Postal Service, the law then authorizes the county to send the NVRA-prescribed notice that informs the registrant they face removal if they do not respond and continue to not vote in the next two regular general elections.
Opponents warned the procedure could still functionally remove people who choose not to vote. Representative Kurt Webb asked whether the change effectively makes voting a requirement to remain registered, saying, “So now we set up a new criteria which is that you can no longer choose not to vote.” Powell and supporters said that interpretation misstates the substitute, pointing out the Postal Service return—not nonvoting alone—must occur before the NVRA notice is sent.
Representative Chavez-Houck and others noted they worked with stakeholders during drafting and invoked groups such as the ACLU and AARP in describing adjustments that led to the substitute. Powell emphasized the goal is to “keep our voter registration records as accurate as possible,” and said the substitute is a compromise intended to reduce inaccurate entries in turnout-denominator calculations.
The House's roll call for the first substitute recorded 46 yes and 27 no votes. With the substitute adopted, the measure will go to the Utah Senate for consideration.
The House discussion included multiple technical clarifications of how the NVRA interacts with state law and repeated assurances from the sponsor that routine nonvoting alone would not trigger removal without the postal-service evidence of an invalid address.
The next procedural step is Senate consideration; no further floor action was taken in the House after the vote.
