Transcript NVRA - Maryland State Board of Elections

NVRA Compliance
Agency Responsibilities under
the National Voter Registration
Act of 1993
Compliance is
Mandatory
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The NVRA is a federal law designed to increase citizens’ access to voter registration
opportunities.
Under the NVRA, the State’s voter registration agencies MUST offer voter registration
services to each person applying for service or assistance, renewing or recertifying
eligibility, or submitting a change of address.
The State’s voter registration agencies include:
– Local department of social services units providing Temporary Cash Assistance,
Medicaid, and Food Stamps;
– WIC offices;
– Local offices of the Maryland Children's Health Program under the Department of
Health and Mental Hygiene;
– All offices primarily engaged in providing State-funded services to individuals with
disabilities, including the Maryland Transit Administration Paratransit Certification
Office;
– Recruitment offices of the armed forces of the United States;
– Offices on aging; and
– Offices for students with disabilities at private and public colleges and
universities.*
*Note – Special requirements apply to the Motor Vehicle Administration, marriage license offices of the clerks of court, and public institutions of
higher education. This PowerPoint does not cover those requirements, which can be found at COMAR 33.05.03.01 et seq.
Applications for Benefits, Recertifications or
Renewals, and Address Changes
• A voter registration application and a declination form must be
provided with each application for service or assistance and with
each recertification, renewal, or change-of-address form relating to
that service or assistance.
• Unless the applicant refuses assistance, the same level of
assistance that is provided in the completion of the agency’s own
application forms, including bilingual services when necessary,
must be provided in completing a voter registration application
and/or declination form.
• Voter registration services must be provided even if the interaction
with the client is remote (e.g., by phone, internet, or mail).
Prohibited Activities
Personnel may not:
• Seek to influence an applicant's political preference or
party registration;
• Display any political or candidate preference or party
allegiance;
• Make any statement or take any action the purpose or
effect of which is to discourage the applicant from
registering to vote; or
• Make any statement or take any action the purpose or
effect of which is to lead the applicant to believe that a
decision to register or not to register has any bearing on
the availability of services or benefits.
Confidentiality
• No information relating to a declination to
register to vote may be used for any
purpose other than voter registration.
• The particular agency through which an
individual registered may not be publicly
disclosed.
Declination Forms
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A declination form must be provided with each application for service or assistance and with
each recertification, renewal, or change-of-address form relating to that service or
assistance. A sample declination form may be obtained from the State Board of Elections.
The declination form must include:
– the question, “If you are not registered to vote where you live now, would you like to
apply to register to vote here today?”;
– if the agency provides public assistance, the statement, “Applying to register or
declining to register to vote will not affect the amount of assistance that you will be
provided by this agency.”;
– boxes for the applicant to check to indicate whether the applicant would like to register
or declines to register to vote (failure to check either box being deemed to constitute a
declination to register), together with the statement (in close proximity to the boxes and
in prominent type), “IF YOU DO NOT CHECK EITHER BOX, YOU WILL BE
CONSIDERED TO HAVE DECIDED NOT TO REGISTER TO VOTE AT THIS TIME.”;
– the statement, “If you would like help in filling out the voter registration application form,
we will help you. The decision whether to seek or accept help is yours. You may fill out
the application form in private.”; and
– the statement, “If you believe that someone has interfered with your right to register or
to decline to register to vote, your right to privacy in deciding whether to register or in
applying to register to vote, or your right to choose your own political party or other
political preference, you may file a complaint with the State Board of Elections, P.O.
Box 6486, Annapolis, MD 21401-0486, 1-800-222-8683.”
Completed declination forms must be retained by the agency for at least 22 months after the
federal election to which the registration would first apply.
Registration Assistance
• The agency must provide to each applicant who
does not decline to register to vote the same
degree of assistance with completing the voter
registration application as is provided by the
agency with regard to the completion of its own
forms, unless the applicant refuses such
assistance.
• Applicants who are interested in registering
should be encouraged to complete the voter
registration application at the office to help
ensure that it is turned in.
Transmitting Completed Applications to
the Board of Elections
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Each voter registration agency must accept completed voter registration
applications for transmittal to the appropriate election board. An applicant
also has the option of mailing the voter registration application to the
appropriate local election official or returning it to the agency for
transmittal to the appropriate election official after completing it
elsewhere.
Within 5 days from the acceptance of a voter registration application, the
agency must forward the application to the appropriate board of election.
In order to facilitate required reporting, the agency must submit
applications to the appropriate board of election using a transmittal form
indicating the voter registration agency’s identity. A sample transmittal
form may be obtained from the State Board of Elections.
The agency also must ensure that it uses only voter registration
applications that contain the NVRA logo.
Signs and Voter Registration
Applications in Waiting Rooms
• Each voter registration agency should maintain an adequate
supply of voter registration applications in an accessible and
visible location in client waiting areas. The State Board of
Elections has plastic voter registration application holders.
• The agency also should display signs in waiting areas
indicating (1) that voter registration forms are available, (2)
that completed forms may be left with the office for forwarding
to election officials, and (3) that assistance is available with
completing the forms.
• Each agency also should post in its waiting areas the State
Board of Elections’ “Register to Vote Here” posters.
• To obtain the plastic holders, posters, and a sample sign,
contact Mary Cramer Wagner, Director, Voter Registration
Division, State Board of Elections.
Ordering Voter Registration
Applications
• Each voter registration agency is responsible for
ensuring that each local office has an adequate
supply of voter registration applications. Do not
wait until applications run out to request new
ones.
• When ordering voter registration applications
from the State Board of Elections or the local
boards of election, it is important to expressly
request forms containing the NVRA logo. The
presence of the logo assists the State Board of
Elections with maintaining federally required
voter registration data.
NVRA Coordinator Duties
• Each voter registration agency is required to have a NVRA
Coordinator. The NVRA Coordinator is responsible for overseeing
the agency’s compliance with the NVRA.
• The NVRA Coordinator must maintain a list of the agency’s NVRA
Site Coordinators; answer agency questions on NVRA procedures;
monitor NVRA compliance (including collecting and analyzing data
on the agency’s NVRA activities) and oversee any necessary
corrective action plans; serve as a liaison with the State Board of
Elections; ensure that the agency is meeting the NVRA’s
recordkeeping requirements; ensure that local offices have
adequate supplies of voter registration applications and declination
forms; and ensure that staff, including any volunteers, are trained on
their NVRA duties.
NVRA Site Coordinator Duties
• Each local office that provides voter registration services
must have a NVRA Site Coordinator. The NVRA Site
Coordinator is responsible for overseeing the office’s
compliance with the NVRA.
• The Site Coordinator’s duties include recordkeeping in
accordance with the NVRA; ensuring that staff, including
any volunteers, have been trained on their NVRA duties;
acting as a liaison with the agency’s NVRA Coordinator
and the local boards of elections; ensuring that the office
has an adequate supply of voter registration applications
and declination forms; and ensuring that completed voter
registration forms are forwarded to the appropriate
election officials in a timely manner.
Questions
If you have any questions, contact:
Mary Cramer Wagner
Maryland State Board of Elections
Director, Voter Registration Division
151 West Street, Suite 200
Annapolis, Maryland 21401
(410) 269-2850