Inactive Voters

If you do not respond to the Annual Census by April 15, you will be put on the inactive voter list. Voters on the inactive list will be notified by mail in June and given a second opportunity to respond and return to the list of active voters. Voters who remain inactive and fail to vote in two federal elections will be removed from the voters 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. 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 Lowell, or have moved from Lowell to another Massachusetts municipality within six months of state and federal elections and primaries. 

Click here to check your voter registration status online at any time.


Returning to "Active" Status


You may restore yourself to the list of active voters by filing the Affirmation of Current and Continuous Residence:

Completed affirmations can be mailed or delivered to the Election and Census Department, 375 Merrimack Street, Room 5, Lowell, MA 01852. Completed forms containing an original signature may be emailed to elections@lowellma.gov or faxed to (978) 970-4089.

Voters will also be returned to the list of active voters when applying for a mail-in ballot or having their name certified on a petition or nomination paper.