Process Mail Returned by a Voter

Certain types of mail received from voters should be processed as returned mail. Such mail includes Address Confirmation Requests, Address Change Notices, Final Notices, and Felon Letters to which the voter has responded and returned to the elections office.

Correspondence can also include letters or other written notices, phone calls, and emails from voters advising you of a residential address change. This latter type of correspondence from a voter is considered a voter response. If you receive such notice from a voter who is moving into your county, see Move-In Address Change from a Voter Response for instructions. For address changes from local voters, see In-County Address Changes from a Voter Response.

Name changes are permitted when processing returned mail, should the voter indicate that their name has changed. Name changes are also permitted by a written notice (that is, a voter response), provided that the voter has included their date of birth or voter registration number.

  1. First, scan and index images of the returned mail to record the communication type to the voter's record.
  2. Go to VOTER REGISTRATION > Record Correspondence from Voter to open the Find a Voter dialog.
  3. If you are working with a bar code wand, use the wand to open the voter’s record; otherwise, do a search by name. For voters in your county, do a local search; do an FVRS search for voters who might have been moved out of your county by a third-party address change and whose mail response indicated they have not moved. The Correspondence From Voter dialog displays details about the voter's correspondence.

  4. In the Correspondence Type box, select the type of mail the voter is returning. The option you choose is retained for subsequent voters until you change it.
    • Address Confirmation Request—an address confirmation request mailed to the voter by the elections office.
    • Address Change Notice—a notice mailed by the elections office to a voter for whom the office has received a third-party address change.
    • Final Notice—a final notice mailed to the voter by the elections office.
    • Felon Letter - CountyClerk—a letter mailed by the elections office to a voter who has been identified by the court system as a felon.
    • Other Mail—any mail piece that is not one of the other types.
    5. Note:  The last option in the Correspondence Type box activates a drop-down list of voter-response communications. These are typically used to record address changes submitted in writing, by phone, or by email. The processing of such address changes is explained in Move-In Address Change from a Voter Response.
  5. Depending on the situation, click any of the following:
Note: Entries associated with the following options update the voter's last activity date as well as the voter's audit log, which can be seen by clicking View Voter Audit. The information shown from this view is the same as that on the Audit tab in the voter's record.
  • Card Returned, Record Response. In addition to updating the voter’s audit log and the last activity date, the returned mail is recorded as a voter communication on the Comms tab in the voter's record.
    • The voter returned an Address Confirmation Request confirming that their residence and mailing addresses are correct or aFinal Notice indicating that no change is needed to their registration record.

      • If the voter's registration status is Inactive, their status is changed to Active with the reason Reinstate Final Notice/Petn, or 2(A).

    • The voter returned a felon letter. An entry is made in the voter's audit log and on the Comms tab, but no other action is taken. The voter's registration status is not affected by the returned felon letter.
  • Address Change Inside Florida. Primarily used for voters who have returned an Address Confirmation Request, an Address Change Notice, or a Final Notice indicating an address change or confirmation. This option schedules a new voter information card for the voter. This option is also used for voters who advise you of a name change.
    • The voter changed their residential address to an address in your county. On the Voter New Address dialog, enter the change in the residential address fields.
    • The voter changed their residential address to an address in another Florida county. On the Voter New Address dialog, enter the change in the residential address fields. The voter is moved to the other county and a voter information card will be scheduled in the new county's system. Note that the voter's move is processed here just as it would be if you accessed the voter's application form and changed it there.
    • The voter changed their mailing address. On the Voter New Address dialog, enter the change in the mailing address fields.
      • Note: When a voter moves out of your county, their Vote-By-Mail Requests do not move to the new county. They remain in the voter's record in your county, but will not be sent out because the voter is no longer eligible to receive them from your county. The voter will need to make Vote-By-Mail Requests in their new county of residence if they want mail ballots. When a voter moves out, we suggest you notify your Vote-By-Mail coordinator so that they can handle such requests in accordance with your county's procedures. In the case of all-elections and FPCA requests, the expiration date of these requests is set to the date when the out-of-county move is recorded. FPCA and all-elections requests do not move with the voter's record.
    • The voter returned an Address Change Notice or a Final Notice indicating he or she did not move out of state or from your county to another Florida county. (This scenario would occur if a previous address change was received in error from a third party.) Enter the voter's old address in the residential address fields on the Voter New Address dialog. Be sure to change the County field to your county. If needed, also correct or remove an invalid mailing address.
      • Note: In the cases listed above, if the voter's registration status is Inactive, their status will be changed to Active with the reason Reinstate Final Notice/Petn, or 2(A).
    • The voter indicates a name change. Enter the voter's new name on the Voter New Address dialog.
  • Moved out of Florida, Remove from Register. The voter changed their residential address to an address out of State. This changes the voter’s status to Ineligible with a reason Moved out of State, Requested by Voter, or F(P). No further action on your part is required, although some counties scan any documents that show a change of address. The Comms tabs on the voter's record will show the incoming address confirmation.

The policy of some Florida counties is to scan returned mail or certain types of returned mail. To set up Voter Focus so that it links the scanned document with a record of the returned mail created by the procedure above, the communication type set up for the type of returned mail should have the option Image Expected for this Communication selected. This is done in VOTER FOCUS ADMIN > System Codes > Communication Type Codes.