Voter Registration Basics at Indiana Election Administrator's Conference 2023
Learn about voter registration qualifications, underage voter rules, voting rights for those convicted of crimes, and methods of registration in Indiana.
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Presentation Transcript
Voter Registration Basics Indiana Election Administrator s Conference 2023 Angie Nussmeyer, Co-Director, Indiana Election Division
Acronyms BMV = bureau of motor vehicles OVR = online voter registration SAMC = Statewide Address Mailing Confirmation Notice SVRS = statewide voter registration system VLM = voter list maintenance VR = voter registration 2
Voter Registration Qualifications To register to vote in Indiana, a person must be: A U.S. Citizen At least 18 years old on or before the date of the November election No longer imprisoned after being convicted of a crime. Reside in their precinct 30-days before the election 30-days is calculated back from the date of the election 4 IC 3-7-13-2 | IC 3-7-13-5 | IC 3-7-13-6
Underage Voters States each have their own laws regarding this topic Indiana permits a 17-year-old to register to vote if birthday falls on or before November election day Would answer yes to age question on form, even if not yet 18 CAN vote in a primary election, if registered by deadline Counties MAY need special 17-year-old ballot Includes ALL candidates, including those for party office (PC or delegate in 2024) EXCLUDES public question, IF a public question is on the ballot in May election 4 IC 3-7-13-3
Voters Convicted of a Crime States have their own laws on this topic In Indiana, a person is never permanently disenfranchised Two-part Test: Person must be (1) currently imprisoned (2) following conviction of a crime If both parts are true, then voter s Indiana registration may be moved to cancelled status Notice of disposition must be mailed to the voter Once released, individual may register to vote, even if they are on probation, parole, home detention, or enrolled in community corrections programs. 5 IC 3-7-13-5 | IC 3-7-13-6
Methods of Registration Paper VR Forms Types: State Form (VRG-7 & VRG-11) Only difference is VRG-7 has a return address to IED; VRG-11 allows county to customize return address Federal Form Must contain an original wet signature & be sent by mail or hand- delivery No fax & no email! Combined or Ongoing Paper Forms Dual registration & absentee request Types: Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) ABS-VPD used by voters with print disabilities Combined or ongoing forms CAN be emailed & faxed 6 IC 3-7-14 | IC 3-7-32-2 | IC 3-7-33-4
Methods of Registration Online at indianavoters.com Requires person to have valid Indiana driver s license or state ID card Persons without an Indiana driver s license or state ID card can register to vote in Indiana, but will need to use a federal or state voter registration form BMV signature is imported to statewide VR system OVR records go to SVRS OVR Hopper During credential transaction at BMV Credential transactions are those where person gets an ID or driver s license Registration requests are sent electronically into SVRS BMV hopper 7 IC 3-7-14 | IC 3-7-32-2 | IC 3-7-33-4 | IC 3-7-26.7
Methods of Registration At certain full-service agencies for specific transactions FSSA (WIC), DWD, ISDH Paper VRG-6 form specific to the agency used Only IED has access to this form; if agency asks county for the form, please direct them to send an email elections@iec.in.gov Paper form is transmitted to county VR official VRG-9 Transmittal sheets used Declinations may be used for voter list maintenance purposes, if residence address on form does not correspond to registration address Send a Statewide Address Mailing Confirmation (SAMC) Notice to voter When applying for a handgun license VRG-6 form specific to law enforcement used Same note as above; only IED can share the form Paper form is transmitted to county VR official BRG-9 Transmittal sheet used Same process as above for declinations 8
Voter Registration Deadlines VR forms must be received by statewide deadline date However, VR forms postmarked on or before deadline are to be reviewed & processed, if eligible, by county VR officials If postmark is missing or illegible, then the VR form can be reviewed by county VR official & processed, if eligible, if received by the Monday after the deadline date Hand-delivered forms must be received on or before close of business on deadline date Transactions must be completed by the full service agency like the BMV on or before the deadline date Full service agency then has five days to submit the forms to the county VR official per state law Online registrations must be time-stamped within SVRS no later than 11:59PM (local prevailing time) on deadline date IC 3-7-14 | IC 3-7-32-2 | IC 3-7-33-4 9
Taking Custody of VR Forms Don t forget! Taking custody of another s state VR form (VRG-7 or VRG-11) means you must: 1. Complete the receipt found on the upper portion of the state VR form with your name and home address NOTE: Receipt & affidavit requirement does not apply to federal VR forms 2. Tear off receipt and hand to voter 3. Complete the affidavit on the bottom of the state VR form for those registrations you took custody to turn in on voter s behalf 4. Submit the voter s registration form not later than noon, ten days after taking custody of the form OR by the statewide voter registration deadline, whichever comes first This submission deadline applies to state AND federal VR forms 10 IC 3-7-32-8
Taking Custody of VR Forms Certificate of Acceptance Found on the lower half of state VR forms Must be completed by person taking custody If info is missing OR the noon, 10-day window to deliver has passed: County VR official still processes, if voter is otherwise eligible County VR official may forward to CEB to determine if an election law violation occurred 11 IC 3-7-32-8
Processing VR Forms & Submissions Registrations are signed under the penalties of perjury; therefore, considered a sworn statement When form received, VR official shall determine if the applicant appears to be eligible to register to vote based on the information in the application 12 IC 3-7-33-5 | IC 3-5-5
Required Information Answer yes to age & citizenship question If no is marked on one or both, then reject If missing yes or no on one or both, then make form incomplete Name, DOB, Residence Address Mailing address is not required; if not filled out, then residence address serves as voter s mailing address Voter with non-traditional address can use map found on paper VR forms (VRG-7, VRG-11, Fed Form) ID Number Indiana driver s license number or Indiana ID number; OR Last 4 digits of SSN OR If no IN ID/DLN or SSN, mark or write none for ID to be assigned to voter Signature Voter must sign, though online submissions affix a signature 13
Residency Voter assumed to reside at address on registration form Person challenging that assertion has the burden to provide otherwise Residency is mostly not black & white Cannot register to vote at a PO Box because you cannot live inside a PO Box Cannot register to vote using a business address, unless the person physically resides at the business address like a live/work unit 14 IC 3-5-5
Incomplete Registration Applications Missing any of required info? Don t reject; mark incomplete! Required to attempt to contact the voter If phone or email, call or email If address, send a letter Can do both, if you d like! Age/Citizenship Incompletes Must be completed by statewide VR deadline Must be provided with a sworn statement under the penalty of perjury If not, then registration rejected All Other Incompletes Must be completed not later than 10-days before election If not, then registration rejected 15 IC 3-7-34
Notice of Disposition Required to mail notice to voter (generated in SVRS) when a VR form is: Rejected to note the reason for rejection; Accepted by sending the voter acknowledgement card (aka VR Card ); or Moved to cancelled if voter disfranchised if currently imprisoned following conviction of a crime 16
Voter Status Pending Registration application processed & acknowledgement card cut for mailing Wait 7-days before status moves to active If card is returned as undeliverable within 7-day window, then reject registration application If card is returned as undeliverable after 7-day window, then may send a SAMC notice Active Voter appears to continue to reside at registration address & responds to VLM notices or votes Inactive Considered a registered voter at the address on their record but voter did not respond to specific VLM outreach More to come on VLM Cancelled Voter requested, in writing, to cancel Indiana registration Voter moved to cancelled due to VLM or disfranchised due to conviction & imprisonment 17
First Time Voters Federal (HAVA) & state law requires a first- time voter in Indiana who applies to register to vote by mail must provide proof of Indiana residency Process the registration, if voter otherwise eligible Be certain the submission & receipt type correctly note registration was mailed when entering into SVRS SVRS will auto-flag record with verify ID if person does not exist in SVRS & mail was selected for submission type Proof of residency If voting ABS-Mail, proof of residency documentation is included with ballot packet & voter must return proof of residency doc by 6P on Election Day If voting in-person, voter prompted for proof of residency Before EDay, voter s ABS app (even signing the ePB) would be accepted without proof of residency though voter would need to be given a ballot card so they could cast a provisional ballot until the voter provides proof or residency On EDay, voter must show proof of residency before signing poll book If voter signs poll list and does not have proof of residency, then voter votes a provisional ballot 18 IC 3-7-33-4.5 | IC 3-11-10-28 | IC 3-11-8-25.2
First Time Voters Proof of residency, con t Documents must have a residence address that conforms to registration address Includes, but not limited to: Indiana ID or driver s license For photo ID purposes, Indiana ID or DL does not need to have a corresponding address Bank Statement Paycheck Stub Government Document, like VR Card Utility Bill Does not have to be on paper Unlike proof of identification, does not have to be a paper document Voter can pull up the information on their smartphone and show the ABS voter board or EDay poll workers, for example 19 IC 3-5-2-40.5 | IC 3-7-33-4.5
USE A CRITICAL EYE! Closely evaluate all potential matches in SVRS before updating or merging registrations! SVRS provides tools to inform decision-making, NOT make decisions for county VR officials Look at DLN between matching records SVRS may be presenting a twin s information that has all the same info but different DLNs and non-matching signature Double check signature being pulled from BMV on OVT record corresponds to the voter s type name Registration information must be removed or updated uniformly Election officials must use verified data from the voter or other statutorily approved sources to update, inactivate, or cancel voter registrations! 20
Questions? elections@iec.gov
