Inactive Voter Notice
If you do not respond to the City of Boston’s Annual Resident Listing, your voter status will be changed to inactive. The Boston Election Department will mail you a notice with instructions for confirming your address and returning to the active voter list.
If you are on the inactive voter list, you can still vote but must bring identification to your polling place and fill out a form at your polling location. You will then be allowed to vote and restored to the list of active voters.
Acceptable forms of identification include:
- A driver's license
- A state-issued ID card
- A recent utility bill
- A rent receipt
- A lease
- A copy of a voter registration affidavit
- Any other printed identification which contains your name and address
On the form you must affirm that you continue to reside at the address at which you are registered, have moved within the City of Boston, or have moved from Boston to another Massachusetts municipality within six months of state and federal elections only.
Click here to check your voter registration status online at any time.
Returning to "Active" Status
If you recently received a notice that you have been placed on the Inactive Voters List you may return to Active status by:
- Completing your annual resident listing,
- Filing out and returning the reply card enclosed within the inactivation notice that was mailed to you
- applying for a mail-in ballot
- Or signing a certified petition or nomination paper
If you have moved since you registered to vote, you will need to re-register to vote to update your address and polling location.