Title of Regulation: 1VAC20-40. Voter Registration (amending 1VAC20-40-70).

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

Effective Date: June 1, 2016.

Agency Contact: Paul Stenbjorn, Director of Election Administration and Election Technology Certification and Security, Department of Elections, 1100 Bank Street, Richmond, VA 23219, telephone (804) 864-8952, or email paul.stenbjorn@elections.virginia.gov.

Summary:

The amendments (i) revise the list of omissions not considered material for purposes of determining completeness of the voter registration application, (ii) address the use of the voter registration application to change the name or address of the voter, (iii) require general registrars to accept or deny applications within 30 days of receipt, and (iv) make a technical change to reflect the establishment of the Department of Elections.

1VAC20-40-70. Applications for voter registration; affirmation of United States citizenship.

A. [ Form and signature. 1. ] Applications for voter registration shall be on a form approved by the State Board of Elections or appropriate federal agency.

[ 2. ] Applications for voter registration must be signed by the applicant. If the applicant is unable to sign due to a physical disability, the name and address of the person assisting the voter shall be entered on the application according to the form instructions. [ A signature is required by each applicant for voter registration unless the applicant is an individual with physical disabilities. An applicant with physical disabilities who does not sign the form must indicate physical disability in Box 7 or the application will be denied. ]

B. Material omissions on applications for voter registration in general. The following omissions are not material if any of the following, or combination thereof, exists and a voter registration application [ may shall ] not be denied for failure to include one or more of the following:

[ 1. Daytime telephone number; ]

2. Description of a rural address;

3. [ 2. Mailing address different from residence address; ]

4. [ 3. Date of the application; ]

5. Whether the applicant is interested in working as an election official [ 4. Response indicating interest in serving as an election officer; ]

6. Whether the applicant requests to have his residence address excluded from published lists [ 5. Protected voter code; ]

7. Whether the applicant has a disability that requires accommodation in order to vote [ 6. Response indicating the applicant has a physical disability; ] or

8. [ 7. Gender ]. [ ;

8. Social security number if the applicant writes "none" in Box 1;

9. Response indicating military service or status as a qualified spouse or dependent;

10. Response indicating United States citizenship in Box 1 if the applicant has signed the affirmation;

11. Response affirmatively indicating that the applicant is not a felon in Box 5 if the applicant has signed the affirmation;

12. Response affirmatively indicating that the applicant has not been previously adjudicated to be mentally incapacitated in Box 5 if the applicant has signed the affirmation;

13. Signature of applicant if applicant indicates that he is an individual with physical disabilities in Box 7;

14. Address at which the voter is previously registered if the previous voter registration address is available in the Virginia Election and Registration Information System;

15. Witness signature in Box 7;

16. Middle name if the voter indicates "none"; or

17. Generational suffix.

1. Social security number if the applicant checks the box indicating no SSN was ever issued;

2. Gender;

3. Generational suffix;

4. Middle name if the voter checks the box indicating none;

5. Email address;

6. Daytime telephone number;

7. Response indicating protected voter status, military status, overseas status, or any other information requested in Box 4;

8. Mailing address;

9. State in which the applicant is currently registered if the applicant is currently registered in Virginia;

10. Response indicating interest in serving as an officer of election;

11. Signature of applicant if applicant indicates that he is an individual with physical disabilities;

12. Response indicating the applicant has a physical disability if the application is signed by the applicant; or

13. Date of the application. ]

C. Middle name may be material to determining eligibility to vote. If the applicant does not include a middle name and does not [ indicate check the box indicating ] none, the registrar shall:

1. As far as practical, attempt to contact the applicant and obtain his middle name or lack thereof to determine if the application is complete.

a. If the applicant indicates that he has no middle name, the registrar shall process the application.

b. If the applicant indicates that he has a middle name, the registrar shall inform the applicant that the middle name is required, deny the application, and send the applicant a new application.

2. If the registrar is unable to contact the applicant and therefore unable to determine if the application is incomplete, he shall give the benefit of doubt to the applicant and process the application.

D. A general registrar shall not change information provided by an applicant on an application for voter registration without written authorization signed by the applicant.

E. Persons identified as noncitizens in reports from the Department of Motor Vehicles or other state or federal government sources shall have the opportunity to affirm United States citizenship status using any approved voter registration application or other form containing the required affirmation. The State Board of Elections shall automate the process for requesting affirmation of United States citizenship prior to cancellation.

F. If the individual submitting the application is currently a registered voter in Virginia, then the registrar must process the application as a request to update or change the registered voter's information if the application contains new information and is signed by the voter. [ If a registered voter with a physical disability only includes a mark in Box 7, then the request must also be signed by a witness in Box 7. ]

F. G. For cases not covered by this section, the general registrar in consultation with the [ electoral board and ] State Board Department of Elections [ staff ] shall determine materiality on a case-by-case basis [ . When this occurs, the Department of Elections shall make recommendations to the State Board of Elections ] that may result in further amendment of this regulation.

[ H. General registrars must provide the voter notice of having accepted or denied a voter registration applicant within 30 days of receiving a voter registration application. Days during which registration records are closed before elections pursuant to § 24.2-416 of the Code of Virginia shall not be applicable to the calculation of the 30-day processing time.

I. General registrars may not ask for additional information regarding the applicant's restoration of rights from any applicant who indicates that his voting rights have been restored if the applicant's restoration information appears in the Secretary of the Commonwealth's database accessible to general registrars.

J. Prior versions of any voter registration application shall be accepted for registration. Prior versions of any voter registration application may not be denied for failure to provide information that is deemed not material in this section.

K. If a general registrar receives an application by mail after the voter registration records have been closed pursuant to § 24.2-416 of the Code of Virginia from an applicant who indicates (i) active duty uniformed services member, (ii) spouse or dependent of an active duty uniformed services member, or (iii) overseas citizen status, then the general registrar must contact the applicant to determine whether the applicant qualifies for an extended voter registration deadline. The general registrar may accept information from the applicant indicating that the applicant is qualified either orally or in writing. ]

FORMS (1VAC20-40)

Virginia Voter Registration Application Form, SBE-416.2 (rev. 7/13)

[ Virginia Voter Registration Application Form, VA-NVRA-1 (rev. 7/15)

Virginia Voter Registration Application Form, VA-NVRA-1 (rev. 4/2016) ]

National Voter Registration Application Form, Register to Vote in Your State by Using this Postcard Form and Guide (rev. 3/2006)

Voter Photo Identification Card Application (undated)