Next week, the WEC will mail approximately 97,700 postcards to Wisconsin residents who were identified as potentially moving. As part of Wisconsin’s membership in the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), the WEC is required to contact voters who ERIC has flagged as having potentially moved. ERIC obtains data from a variety of sources, such as the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, other participating states, and the National Change of Address (NCOA) database from the United States Postal Service.
A similar mailing was previously done in the summer of 2019. Beginning in 2021 the WEC implemented a quarterly Movers review process. There are three mailings planned in 2021. The first mailing will be the largest as the last Movers mailing was in 2019. Subsequent mailings are planned for September and December 2021.
The postcard notifies voters that a transaction with the WisDOT Division of Motor Vehicles or the NCOA indicates their address may be different than their voter registration address. Voters who receive the postcard and have moved within the State of Wisconsin may choose to register online, by mail, at their clerk’s office, or at their polling place on the next Election Day. The postcard also provides an affirmation option for the voter to sign and return to clerk if they have not moved.
Voters who have not moved may use one of the following options to affirm the address on their voter registration: (1) return their signed postcard to their municipal clerk; (2) visit the MyVote Wisconsin website and click the “Confirm Your Address” button; or (3) vote in the next election where they can affirm with poll workers that they have not had a change of address. The postcard includes a toll-free number which routes them to the WEC Help Desk. Some voters may contact their municipal or county clerk with questions in response to this postcard.
The voter records identified for this mailing will remain Active in WisVote but will have an updated status reason of “Movers”, will appear as “Active/Movers” in WisVote, and a watermark will show next to their names in the poll book. Clerks have discretion to assess each case individually and may elect to deactivate records or restore the record to “Active/ Registered” status. Note that clerks must still send a 30-day notice letter to the voter before deactivating the record. If the 30-day notice comes back as undeliverable, it is processed by the clerk, inactivating the voter record. If a voter receives the 30-day notice and responds that they still reside at the same address and wish to remain registered, the clerk may return the voter record to “Active/Registered” status. If a voter changes their residence within the municipality, the clerk must change the registration and mail the voter a notice of the change.
Decisions to modify these voter records are to be made by clerks at the municipal level. You may want to contact your municipal attorney for assistance in interpreting applicable statutes such as Wis. Stat. § 6.50(3).
If you have any questions regarding the 2021 ERIC Movers mailings, please contact the Elections Help Desk at @email or 608-261-2028.