Transcript Document

Voter Registration Funding
Election Funds Management
Texas Secretary of State
7/21/2015
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
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Voter Registrar Expense System
Chapter 19
• Chapter 19 (CH19) may only be used to defray
expenses of the Voter Registrar Office.
• Commissioners Court may not consider
availability of CH19 funds when adopting the
county budget.
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Allowable Uses of Chapter 19 Funds
• Increase the number of registered voters.
• Maintain accurate list of registered voters.
• Increase efficiency of the Voter Registrar
Office thru the use of technology.
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Payable and Non-Payable Expenses
Payable
Non-Payable
Voter Registration Drives - rental of space and supplies – T.A.C.
§ 81.12
Deputy Voter Registrar Supplies – T.A.C. § 81.14
Voter Registration Applications
Promotional items - cups, coffee mugs, ink pens, t-shirts,
rulers, drink coolers, windshield shades, etc. – T.A.C. § 81.25
Association Publications - newsletters, newspapers with Voter
Registration Related issues – T.A.C. § 81.25
Chapter 19 funded voter registration drives must not promote
a particular party, candidate, or issue.
Temporary Employees – T.A.C. § 81.22 (now payable for up to
39 weeks – HB 3061)
Permanent full-time and part-time county employees may not
be compensated with Chapter 19 funds. – TAC 81.22
Travel to seminar(s) that directly advance Voter Registrar
efforts – T.A.C. § 81.23
Alcoholic Beverages, gratuities and tips, and/or any food or
drinks other than for a trip – T.A.C. § 81.23
Computer training for duties relating to voter registration,
hardware & software upgrades – T.A.C. § 81.26
County may not be reimbursed for the compensation of full or
part-time county employees and programmers.– TAC 81.22
Electronic office equipment - typewriters, fax machines,
adding machines, shredders, optical imaging systems,
electronic retriever file systems, electronic poll books, copiers
– T.A.C. § 81.27
Office furniture, supplies, normal postage, & general office
equipment. – T.A.C. § 81.14
NVRA Expenses – printing and mailing of confirmation notices
– T.A.C. § 81.28
If an item purchased or service rendered is not exclusively
related to voter registration, the cost must be prorated
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Day-to-Day Operations
• Chapter 19 funds may not be used to fund the
normal day-to-day operation of the Voter
Registrar's Office.
• The normal day-to-day operation of the voter
registrar's office must be funded by the
Commissioners Court.
• The SOS has the sole authority to determine
whether a requested item or service is a dayto-day expense and thus not payable with
Chapter 19 funds.
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Funding Period
• Funding for each fiscal year becomes available
to the counties on June 1 and remains
available for 27 months, expiring on August
31.
• CH19 requests must be received within six (6)
months of payment to vendor.
• Travel expense reimbursement requests must
be submitted within 30 days of the
completion of travel.
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Competitive Bids
• Purchases of $5,000 or more must follow
competitive bidding procedures.
• If a purchase is made through the Texas
Procurement and Support Services (TPASS),
bids are not required.
• Sole source or purchases where the lowest
bidder was not selected require justification
signed by the county purchasing authority.
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Approval Requirement
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Invoice from Vendor.
Proof of Payment.
Timesheet.
Paystub.
Lodging, Mileage, and Meals.
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Supporting Documentation
• Upload directly via VR CH.19 Online Expense
System
• Fax: 512-463-7552
• Email: [email protected]
• Mail:
Texas Secretary of State
Election Funds Management Section
P. O. Box 12060
Austin, Texas 78711-2060
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Method of Payment
• Reimbursement basis.
• Payment will be payable to the county via
direct deposit.
• No cash payments may be made from CH19
funds .
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Ownership of Equipment
• Property of the county.
• County responsible for upkeep and
maintenance (property management).
• Equipment no longer needed or useful may be
transferred to other county uses.
• Equipment no longer needed by county;
method of disposal set by county guidelines.
• Proceeds received from sale of equipment
may be used only for VR purposes.
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Records Maintenance
• Three (3) state fiscal years.
• Invoices from the vendor, signed timesheets,
paid voucher, ledger or bank statement
verifying payment.
• All procurement documents and related
records.
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Temporary Employees
• Commissioners Court must budget for the
adequate staffing of the Voter Registrar's Office.
• Funds may be used for temporary personnel
when exigent circumstance arise beyond the
staffing resources budgeted.
• Permanent full-time and part-time county
employees may not be compensated with CH19
funds.
• A maximum of 39 weeks out of the 52-week state
fiscal year.
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Travel
• Voter Registrar and full-time VR employees.
• Lowest available rates and fares shall be
utilized to conserve funds, not to exceed
applicable state rates.
• Travelers are required to commute together.
• Chapter 19 travel reimbursements must be
submitted for each traveler within 30 days.
• Travel advances will not be made for meals,
taxes or miscellaneous expenses.
Travel Rates: https://fmx.cpa.state.tx.us/fm/travel/travelrates.php
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Voter Registration Drives
• Increase the number of registered voters in a
county.
– Mail outs of applications
– Insertions of applications
– Newspapers
– Events
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Technology
• Improvements
– Hardware
– Initial Installation
• License and Maintenance Fees.
• It a purchase will not be used exclusively for
voter registration, it must be prorated.
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Electronic Office Equipment
• Examples include:
– Computers
– Copiers
– Shredders
– Optical Imagining Systems
– Electronic Retriever File Systems
– ePollbooks
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National Voter Registration Act
• Confirmation Notices
– Computer Programming Changes
– Printing
– Mailings
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Activity Statement
• Annual Certification May 15th.
• Funds Available June 1st.
• Each registrar is entitled to receive the sum of the
following amounts:
– 25 cents multiplied by the number of initial registrations certified
under Section 19.001(a)(1);
– 40 cents multiplied by the number of canceled registrations certified
under Section 19.001(a)(2);
– 40 cents multiplied by the number of updated registrations under
Section 19.001(a)(3); and
– in each even-numbered year, 40 cents multiplied by the difference
between the number of registered voters and the number of initial
registrations certified for the two previous voting years.
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Business Reply Permit No. 4511
• Used to receive voter registration applications at
the county’s local post office.
• SOS renews the 4511 permit in November and
sends a copy along with the authorization memo
to the counties (via email).
• Counties must deliver a copy of the 4511 permit
to the local county US Postmaster before
December 31.
• When funds are needed, a voter registration
postage report is completed via the Chapter 19
Online Expense System.
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Business Reply Permit No. 4511
(cont.)
• Counties receiving a smaller volume of voter
registration mail per year (approx. 900 or less
according to the US Postal Service) are to use the
regular postage due account method.
• Counties that are estimated to have a high
volume of voter registration applications are
issued the accounting fee check of $635.00.
• The 2014 high volume counties are based on
2012 statistics.
• All funds are made payable to the county’s local
postmaster.
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Reimbursement Requests
• Voter Registrar Expense Reporting application
https://chapter19.sos.state.tx.us/index.aspx
– Purchase Reimbursement
– Temporary Personnel Expense
– Travel
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