2024 PA Voter List Maintenance Report

Comparison of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) National Change of Address (NCOA) Permanently moved out-of PA and the December 30, 2024 FVE. The NCOA was derived from the June 17, 2024 FVE and provided move data for 425,509 PA registrants.

In Pennsylvania the USPS NCOA is used in a two-step notice mailing process. The notices in each step of the process are sent via forwardable mail to the address of registration. The first mailing, based on data received from the NCOA , is a notice which requires the voter to specify whether they have moved. Then, depending on their response, county officials update their records accordingly. These notices provide an opportunity for the voter to confirm their address or provide an update with their latest information to county officials.

Following the initial NCOA Notice mailing, county officials send a second notice to voters who did not respond to the first mailing, or where the initial NCOA Notice was returned as undeliverable. This second notice is commonly referred to as the Address Verification Notice (AVN). With the mailing of the AVN, the record is marked Inactive, triggering a waiting period before the voter record can be removed from the registration rolls. The period lasts until two federal general elections have passed. If the voter takes an action to update their record or vote within the waiting period, the voter record is returned to Active status, and the voter record is no longer scheduled for cancellation. For example, if a voter was marked as Inactive in 2023 during list maintenance activities, and they do not make any changes on their record or vote, the voter would be removed after the 2026 General Election. (1)

Detailed reports for Pennsylvania and selected PA Counties. Provides the number of Registrant Voter Status Switches between Active (A) and Inactive (I), the number of Deleted Registrants for each Voter Status, and the number of Added Registrants for each Voter Status. These tables reflect a comparison of two FVEs, one at the start of the Voter List Maintenance process (6/17/2024) and one after it is completed (12/30/2024).

The Five-Year Notice (FYN) is a statutorily required, one-step mailing process. It is sent via forwardable mail. The purpose of this notice is to contact voters who have not had any activity on their record and have not voted within five years. Upon generation of this notice, the voter’s record remains on the rolls but is updated to Inactive status for a statutorily defined period. If the voter does not take any action with respect to their record or does not vote before the passage of this period, the voter’s record is cancelled in SURE. The FYN provides an opportunity for the voter to respond, which results in activity that allows the county to reinstate the registrant to Active status. Upon a return to Active status, the window to eventually cancel the voter record stops. (1)

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