Titles of Regulations: 1VAC20-45. Absent Military and Overseas Voters (amending 1VAC20-45-40).

1VAC20-70. Absentee Voting (amending 1VAC20-70-20).

Statutory Authority: § 24.2-103 of the Code of Virginia.

Effective Date: September 4, 2014.

Agency Contact: Martha Brissette, Policy Analyst, Department of Elections, 1100 Bank Street, Richmond, VA 23219, telephone (804) 864-8925, or email martha.brissette@sbe.virginia.gov.

Summary:

The amendments conform the regulations to Chapters 453 and 575, 574, and 580 of the 2014 Acts of Assembly regarding absentee ballots by (i) specifying that omission of the voter's middle name or middle initial does not require rejection of the ballot if the voter's first and last names are provided; (ii) specifying that omission of the date, or any part of the date, including the year, on which the voter signed the statement printed on the back of the envelope does not require rejection of the ballot; and (iii) allowing a ballot to be counted if the inner envelope is imperfectly sealed provided that the outer envelope is sealed. The amendments also require that a voter provide on E nvelope B his generational suffix when one or more individuals with the same name are registered at the same address and that users of Federal Write-In Absentee ballots provide the information required by § 24.2-702.1 of the Code of Virginia needed to determine identity or eligibility.

1VAC20-45-40. Material omissions from Federal Write-In Absentee Ballots.

A. Pursuant to the requirements of §§ 24.2-467, 24.2-702.1, and 24.2-706 of the Code of Virginia, a timely received write-in absentee ballot on a Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB) (Form SF-186) should not be rendered invalid if it contains an error or omission not material to determining the eligibility of the applicant to vote in the election in which he offers to vote.

B. If the applicant is not registered, the FWAB may not be accepted as timely for registration unless the applicant has met the applicable registration deadline. Section 24.2-419 of the Code of Virginia extends the mail registration deadline for certain military applicants. All applications requesting mailed ballots are subject to the mail absentee application deadline in §§ 24.2-459 and 24.2-701 of the Code of Virginia.

C. The following omissions are always material and any FWAB containing such omissions should be rendered invalid if on the declaration/affirmation any of the following, or combination thereof, exists:

1. The applicant has omitted the signature of the voter or the notation of an assistant in the voter signature box that the voter is unable to sign;

2. The applicant has omitted the signature of the witness; or

3. The applicant did not include the declaration/affirmation page; or

4. The applicant omitted from the declaration/affirmation information required by § 24.2-702.1 of the Code of Virginia needed to determine identity or eligibility including, but not limited to, [ (i) ] current military or overseas address [ ; (ii) the street identifier, such as the term "road" or "street" when filling in the legal residence; or (iii) his generational suffix when more than one individual with the same name are registered at the same address, and it is impossible to determine the identity of the voter from the voter declaration/affirmation page ].

D. The ballot should not be rendered invalid if on the FWAB any of the following, or combination thereof, exists:

1. The applicant has not listed the names specifically in the order of last, first, and middle name;

2. The applicant has listed a middle initial or maiden name, instead of the full middle name;

[ 3. The applicant has omitted the street identifier, such as the term "road" or "street," when filling in the legal residence; ]

[ 4. 3. ] The applicant has omitted the county or city of registration if the county or city is clearly identifiable by the residence address information provided;

[ 5. 4. ] The applicant has omitted the zip code;

[ 6. 5. ] The applicant has omitted the date of the signature of the voter;

[ 7. 6. ] The applicant has omitted the address of the witness;

[ 8. 7. ] The applicant has omitted the date of signature of the witness;

[ 9. 8. ] The applicant did not seal the ballot within the security envelope, provided there is substantial compliance with the requirement that the ballot be accompanied by the required voter statement so long as the outside envelope containing the ballot and the voter's declaration/affirmation page arrived sealed; or

[ 10. 9. ] The applicant has submitted a ballot containing offices or issues for which he is not eligible.

1VAC20-70-20. Material omissions from absentee ballots.

A. Pursuant to the requirements of § 24.2-706 of the Code of Virginia, a timely received absentee ballot contained in an Envelope B shall not be rendered invalid if it contains an error or omission not material to its proper processing.

B. The following omissions are always material and any Envelope B containing such omissions shall be rendered invalid if any of the following exists:

1. Except as provided in subdivisions C 2 and 3 of this section, the voter did not include his full first name;

2. The voter did not provide his last name;

3. If the voter has a legal middle name, the voter did not provide at least a middle initial The voter omitted his generational suffix when one or more individuals with the same name are registered at the same address, and it is impossible to determine the identity of the voter [ from Envelope B ];

4. The voter did not provide his house number and street name [ with his residential street identifier (e.g., "street," drive," etc.) ] or his rural route address;

5. The voter did not provide either his city or zip code;

6. The voter did not sign Envelope B; or

7. The voter did not provide the date on which he signed Envelope B; or

8. 7. The voter's witness did not sign Envelope B.

C. The ballot shall not be rendered invalid if on the Envelope B:

1. The voter included his full name in an order other than "last, first, middle";

2. The voter used his first initial instead of his first full name, so long as the voter provided his full middle name;

3. The voter provided a derivative of his legal name as his first or middle name (e.g., "Bob" instead of "Robert");

4. The voter did not provide his generational suffix If the voter provided his first name and last name, the voter did not provide a middle name or a middle initial;

[ 5. The voter did not provide his residential street identifier (Street, Drive, etc.);

6. 5. ] The voter did not provide a zip code, so long as the voter provided his city;

[ 7. 6. ] The voter did not provide his city, so long as the voter provided his zip code;

[ 8. 7. ] The voter omitted the year in the date, or provided an incorrect or incomplete date on which he signed Envelope B; or

9. The voter provided the incorrect date on which he signed Envelope B; or

10. [ 8. 9. ] The ballot is imperfectly sealed within Envelope B, provided that the ballot is contained within Envelope B, there is evidence that a good faith effort was made to seal the envelope, the outer envelope with Envelope B and the ballot arrived sealed, and the circumstances create no reason to suspect fraud.

[ 9. 10. ] The illegibility of a voter's or witness' signature on an Envelope B shall not be considered an omission or error.

D. For the purposes of this regulation, "city" may include the voter's locality, town, or any acceptable mailing name for the five-digit zip code of the voter's residence.

E. The illegibility of a voter's or witness' signature on an Envelope B shall not be considered an omission or error.

F. E. Whether an error or omission on an Envelope B not specifically addressed by this regulation is material and shall render the absentee ballot invalid shall be determined by a majority of the officers of the election present.