Voter Registration Training Overview for D HSMV / Tax Collectors - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Voter Registration Training Overview for HSMV / Tax Collectors Offices D

Katrinia Ferguson, NVRA Coordinator Maria Matthews, Division Director Last Updated September 23, 2014

Table of Contents

• 1. Voter Registration Law History
• NVRA and HAVA
• 2. General Responsibilities
• Administration and Procedures
• 3. Electronic Application System
• Intake and Processing
• 4. Paper Applications
• Non-compliance, Processing and Ordering
• 5. Other Information
• Other Voter Registration Applications, Important

Dates and Contact Information

Part One:

• ter Registration

Law History

NVRA AND HAVA

V

National Voter Registration Act (NVRA)

Enacted in 1993 (state law followed in 1995) Changed voter registration laws and processes across county

• Required same time voter registration/driver license services

(part of NVRA called Motor-Voter Law)

• Required same time voter registration/public services at

publicly funded or government offices

• Introduced the national mail-in application form

Help America Vote Act (HAVA)

 Enacted in 2002

• Replaced outdated voting machines
• Introduced the concept of provisional ballot voting
• Required states to create statewide voter

registration systems

Role of DHSMV-Tax Collector’s Offices

 Before 2010:

• Driver licensing/examiner offices
• Served as front offices for driver license/ID cards and tags
• Responsible for implementing Motor Voter Law part of

NVRA

 Current situation:

• County tax collector’s offices
• Serve as front offices for driver license/ID cards and tags
• Shift of frontline responsibility to apply Motor Voter

Motor-Voter is a Partnership

Department of State/Division

• f Elections (DOS)

Maintains statewide Florida voter registration System (FVRS) Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicle (DHSMV) Maintains drivers license database and electronic voter registration program Transfers daily electronic voter registration information to DOS County Tax Collectors Acts as frontline staff for DHSMV Inputs data into DHSMV system County Supervisor of Elections (SOE) Offices Verifies eligibility Adds and removes voters from voter rolls Educates voters

Motor-Voter Importance

• DHSMV and

Tax collectors

• ffices are

critical parts

• f the voter

registration process

Year DHSMV ALL Apps Percent

1995 703,111 1,353,403

51.95%

1996 645,905 1,794,749

35.99%

1997 543,969 973,797

55.86%

1998 555,051 1,143,802

48.53%

1999 533,673 1,028,636

51.88%

2000 614,272 1,797,672

34.17%

2001 668,338 1,131,341

59.07%

2002 724,275 1,517,693

47.72%

2003 776,229 1,367,914

56.75%

2004 844,622 2,844,444

29.69%

2005 705,728 1,005,338

70.20%

2006 424,865 650,742

65.29%

2007 355,924 566,512

62.83%

2008 352,156 922,666

38.17%

2009 295,476 333,368

88.63%

2010 271,167 472,023

57.45%

2011 333,354 488,596

68.23%

2012 382,556 979,776

39.05%

2013 380,537 496,882

76.58%

18 Years

Questions and Answers

Part Two:

General Responsibilities

Administration and Procedures

What must you do under NVRA and Section 97.057, Florida Statutes?

Each time someone comes in:

• To apply or renew driver’s license / state ID card
• To change his or her residential address

Ask the person orally (or in writing, if person is hearing impaired):

• “Do you want to apply to register to vote or if already registered, do you want to

update your voter registration record?”

Let the person know orally (or in writing) that information:

• From driver’s license part will apply to voter registration part
• Will be sent to Supervisor of Elections for processing
• Will be kept confidential and can only be used for voter registration

Additional Responsibilities:

• RESIDENTIAL address changes apply to update voter registration record unless the

person states or writes otherwise

• Voter registration applications must go out in mailings for driver’s license renewals

Special Class of Applicants:

Pre-registrants

 16 and 17 year olds can pre-register  Cannot vote until he or she turns 18 by

that election

 Registration system automatically converts

to full-fledged voter on registrant’s birthday

 Statutory right belongs solely to pre-

• registrant. Parental or guardian approval

and signature is not required.

Special Class of Applicants:

Victims of Domestic Violence or Stalking

 Special program with Attorney General’s

Office exists to allow a class of voters to register and vote absentee

Attorney General’s Address Confidentiality Program (ACP)  If person says he or she is in program or

that he or she is victim of violence, refer person to Supervisor of Elections’ Office for registration

 Do not intake or otherwise take their voter

registration information unless they insist

Special Class of Applicants:

Address and Informational Confidentiality for High Risk Professionals  Who are they?

• Law enforcement and correction officers, judges

and quasi‐judicial officers, state and U.S. attorneys, guardians ad litem, child abuse investigators, firefighters, human resource personnel

• May include spouses and children of above

persons  What information is protected?

• Identification and location information such as

address, DOB and phone number

• Agency custodian is responsible for ensuring that

the protected information is redacted and not released or otherwise made publicly available

Special Class of Applicants:

Address and Informational Confidentiality for High Risk Professionals

 When does protection apply?

• Exemption only prevents public release of

information -does not exempt from requirement to give information to agency

• Must still supply residential address and date of

birth to register or update a record in order to assign right precinct and proper ballot  How will it be done?

• Person must request the exemption in writing

to each agency holding the information in its records.

Questions and Answers

Part Three: Electronic Application System

Intake and Processing

Application Electronic System

 FDLIS designed and maintained by

DHSMV

• Florida Drivers License Information System

 Electronic intake for voter registration

since 2006

 No direct access to voter registration

system

 Nightly batch information upload to

Department of State

 Voter registration questions woven

into driver’s license / ID card application

 Voter registration intake mirrors all the

fields on statewide voter registration application (see next slide)

Statewide Voter Registration Application

(DS-DE #39 Version 10/13) Rule 1S-2.040, Florida Administrative Code “Standard” form Discard any older blank versions you may have in stock

What to do when someone does not want t register or update his or her registration? (see next slide)

 Right to refuse before or during registration

process

• Verbally
• Failing to sign the oath

 If person changes mind mid-process, stop

electronic intake and record declination

 Keep records of declination for two years

• It is a record of your office’s compliance with

federal and state law

What to do when someone wants to registe

• r update his or her registration?

(see next slide)

r

Electronic Intake – Name and DOB

 Enter name and date of birth

accurately and in proper order:

• First, Middle, Last (Enter name on legal

documentation such as passport, birth certificate, etc.)

• Date of Birth (Enter in order of MM/DD/YYYY

–month, day, year)

 Consequences of data input

errors (examples):

• A misspelling could create a duplicate record
• r could make it hard to find a person’s name
• n the precinct register
• (e.g., Kathy Hollingsworth versus Kathy

Hollensworth)

Electronic Intake – Address

(cont’d)

 Address entered twice

• Driver license portion: Enter as single

string

• Voter registration portion: Enter in

segment/decatenated parts –example in next slide

 Street validation program

• If system finds address invalid or not

recognized, DO NOT JUST OVERRIDE:

• Check for inverted, transposed or omitted letters

and numbers

• Check for abbreviated street names

 For example: Enter “Tennessee” instead of “Tenn”

• Check for omitted numbered street suffixes

 For example: enter “Twenty Second Street” as “22nd” not “22”

Electronic Intake – Driver License Screen Address

(cont’d)

Electronic Intake – Voter Registration Screen Address

(cont’d)

Input data into proper separate address segment fields, i.e., street number, suffix, street name, street type, post direction, unit type, and unit number.

Electronic Intake – Address

 Types of Residential Address

• Residence for registration means physical

presence at the address person intends to be residence

• P.O. Box or business address cannot be used

as residential address

• Homeless residents:

 The address of the place where he or she

regularly receives mail

 General delivery address at a post office  Church address who agrees to accept mail on

the person’s behalf

 Address of a shelter that the person frequents

• Mobile Home, Houseboat, or Recreational

Motor Home residents:

 Available address is where a person docks

his/her residential riverboat or houseboat or motor home and/or and receives mail regularly

Motor Voter Address Drop-down Listing

• Pre-Direction
• Street Type
• Unit Type

Electronic Intake – Political Party

 Political Party

• Click the “SELECT VOTER PARTY” button

when a customer requests to change his or her political party or says that he or she is a new voter

 Political party selection options:

• Major party listing

 Democratic Party  Republican Party

• No party affiliation
• Minor party listing

 If voter requests to see a list of parties,

current political party list should be in your intake system (see next slide) and is also available online at:

• http://election.dos.state.fl.us/candidate/parties.shtml
• Parties change periodically

Menu Screen for Political Party Change

Political Party Affiliation- Optional Field

 No one has to register with a party  Affects right to vote in primary elections  Florida is a Closed‐Primary State  Voters registered with one party CANNOT

vote for candidates of another party in a primary

 Voters with No Party Affiliation CANNOT

vote in those races in a primary

 But all voters, regardless of affiliation or no

affiliation, can vote on any issue, and nonpartisan race, or any race in which a partisan candidate will face no opposition in the general election

Sample Primary Democratic Party Ballot

Sample Primary Republican Party Ballot

Sample Primary Nonpartisan Ballot

• Consequence for not

selecting a political party

• No Governor race

selection

UNDUE VOTER INFLUENCE

VOIDED VOTER APPLICATION

• Voiding, cancelling or interrupting a DL transaction does

the same to the voter registration information

• You must re-enter voter registration when you re-enter

DL information

• Failure to re-enter voter registration means no voter

registration information is captured or transmitted

SIGNATURE IMAGE QUALITY

• DL signature becomes voter signature
• If signature does not match, absentee ballot will not count
• Potential impact –2.3 million absentee voters in 2012
• If signature image clipped off or of poor quality
• Have the person re-sign

Electronic Intake- Wrap-up

 Print out inputted voter application

information for applicant

• Applicant keeps print-out as receipt

 Allow person time to review and verify

data what you entered

 Accept electronic intake ONLY after

person verifies data entered

 Tell the person to contact Supervisor

• f Elections within 2 weeks if voter

card not received

Post- Electronic Intake

• DHSMV DOS Nightly upload (voter

information and signature images)

• DOS  Supervisors of Elections via

suspense in registration system

 All registration information coming from

DHSMV/Tax Collectors assigned source code “1” (tracks registration activity)

 Supervisor determines if registration is new

• r update
• New application is denied if applicant is

ineligible

• If address cannot be verified as valid, new

application is incomplete (voter cannot vote until address is validated)

• If application is complete, Supervisor issues

voter information card within 5 days

Questions and Answers

Part Four: Paper Applications

Non-compliance, Processin and Ordering g

Noncompliance with NVRA – Action

 Who:

• Any person who alleges violation of voter registration or removal

process under NVRA or Florida Election Code can file a complaint against DOS, SOE, DHSMV / Tax Collector, or a Voter Registration Agency

 How:

• NVRA complaint filed with the Department of State:

 http://election.dos.state.fl.us/rules/adopted‐rules/pdf/dsde18.pdf

 What:

• Administrative hearing (informal dispute resolution)



When:

• If violation within 30 days of election, court action in lieu of hearing
• If violation within 120 days (4 months) of election, hearing must be

held within 20 days

• Otherwise, hearing held within 30 days of complaint

Noncompliance with NVRA - Remedy

 Award of attorney fees and other sanctions  Declaratory/Injunctive Relief by U.S. Attorney

General/Department of Justice (42 U.S.C. s. 1973gg-9)

 Criminal Penalty for Knowing and Willful Violations Fine  Max. 5-year prison for intentional threats, intimidation, or

undue influence as to a person’s ability to register or to vote, or for fraud in voter registration application process (42 U.S.C. 1973gg-10)

Accept and forward all paper applications

 Requirement of law  Complete or incomplete  Hand-delivered or mailed -in

Hand-delivered paper applications

• Stamp date of receipt on application
• Date of stamp will become voter’s registration

date (if Supervisor of Elections determines application is

complete)

Mailed in applications

• Retain the post-marked envelope along with application
• Keep postmarked envelope with application (even if

postmark is unclear or there is no postmark)

• Importance of postmark



Date of postmark (on original envelope) will be voter’s registration date



If no postmark or postmark is unclear, then the voter’s registration date will be the date when the Supervisor of Elections receives the application from DHSMV/tax collector’s office, except if received within 5 days of registration deadline (bookclosing), then the registration deadline becomes the voter’s registration date

Forwarding paper applications

• Enclose all applications with envelopes in envelope
• r courier bag
• Mark outside with agency office and address
• Forward to local supervisor of elections office within

5 days

Statewide Voter Registration Application

(DS-DE #39 Version 10/13) Rule 1S-2.040, Florida Administrative Code “Standard” form Discard any older versions you may have in stock May still accept older versions from voters

Required Fields on Statewide Voter Registration Application

Although optional, fields help determine which primary election the voter can vote, may reduce the creation of duplicate records, help a voter get help at the polls if disabled, and provide a means to reach the voter about his or her registration or ballot.

Optional Fields on Statewide Voter Registration Application

• Phone number
• Former name
• Former address
• Gender
• Race/ethnicity
• State or country of birth
• Political party affiliation
• Email address and if the voter would like to receive sample ballots

via e-mail

• All other non-required fields (assistance at polls, pollworker

volunteer, etc.)

Although optional, fields help determine which primary election the voter can vote, may reduce the creation of duplicate records, help a voter get help at the polls if disabled, and provide a means to reach the voter about his or her registration or ballot.

How to Obtain a Statewide Voter Registration Applications

 Download and print, or copy, them at your office

• Florida Voter Registration Application – English
• Florida Voter Registration Application – Spanish

 Request applications from the Division of Elections

• Send following information via email to Katrinia.Ferguson@DOS.MyFlorida.com:

 Name of the person receiving the shipment  Mailing address (can not be a post office box)  Contact telephone number  Number of applications requested in Spanish or English

 Order forms from your local County Supervisor of

Elections Office

Paper Applications

• Easily accessible - in plain view (agency/office

ntrance and at work station) English and Spanish versions For pick-up and take out or fill-in and drop off As back-up in case electronic intake system is down e

• Keep

stocked Assistance

• Provide same level of help as you would if person

completing electronic intake process

• Remind person to review (particularly required fields)

and sign application (See next two slides for required and

• ptional fields)

Questions and Answers

Part Five:

Other Information

Additional Voter Registration Applications Important Dates Contact Information

Additional Voter Registration Applications

 May come through agency  Handle as the Florida Statewide Voter Registration

Application (DS-DE39)

Important Dates

2014 Voter Registration Deadline

(aka Bookclosing)

• Primary Election: July 28, 2014
• General Election: October 6, 2014

2014 Election Dates

• Primary Election: August 26, 2014
• General Election: November 4, 2014

Contact Information

Division of Elections

• National Voter Registration Coordinator
• Katrinia Ferguson
• 850-245-6237
• Katrinia.Ferguson@DOS.MyFlorida.com

DHSMV

• Motorist Services Support
• Sharon Watson, Program Manager
• 850-617-2904
• SharonWatson@flhsmv.gov

Local County Supervisor of Elections

• Information on how to contact your local county supervisor of elections office can be

found here:

• http://election.dos.state.fl.us/contact-us/contact.shtml
• Encouraged to reach out to your SOE and maintain regular contact

Questions and Answers