The registrar must keep voter registration records under his control at the principal office, except when this section, law, or a court order allows removal; the secretary of state may receive them temporarily for scanning or data entry and must preserve them until they are returned.
PART III. RECORDS BY REGISTRARS §151. Custody of records A. The original application for registration, together with the registers, records, files, books, and paraphernalia used for conduct of the registrar's office, shall be kept under the control and in the custody of the registrar at his principal office and shall be removed therefrom only as provided in this Section, as authorized by law, or on order of a competent court. However, if his permanent branch office is separated from his principal office by navigable waters, the registrar may allow his records to be kept both in his principal office and the permanent branch office. B. The original application for registration or any of the registers, records, files, books, and paraphernalia used for conduct of the registrar's office shall be released, upon the request of the secretary of state, to the control and custody of the secretary of state, or his designee, for scanning or, upon request of the registrar, entering registration information into the state voter registration computer system. The secretary of state shall be responsible for the preservation and maintenance of all such materials released to him, or to his designee, until the materials have been returned to the control and custody of the registrar. C. For purposes of this Part, the original application for registration shall include the actual document or form completed by the voter and all documented changes thereto. Acts 1976, No. 697, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1978. Acts 1984, No. 672, §1; Acts 1993, No. 418, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1994; Acts 2001, No. 451, §6, eff. Jan. 12, 2004; Acts 2001, No. 1032, §7; Acts 2009, No. 186, §2, eff. June 29, 2009; Acts 2009, No. 369, §1. NOTE: See Acts 2001, No. 1032, §17.