Helping People Participate in Our Democracy

Transcription

1 National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) Helping People Participate in Our Democracy November

2 Why Did Congress Pass the NVRA? Make it Easy for Americans to Register and Vote Motor Voter ~ Register at any DMV in the U.S. Reach people who may not visit the DMV: Register at any public assistance agency Register at any agency primarily serving people with disabilities Eliminate the Vestiges of Discrimination Register by Mail Permanent Registration Safeguards Against Purging Voter Roles 2

3 Who Must Offer Voter Registration? DMV Offices Public Assistance Agencies County Health/Human Services Offices/In-Home Support Services WIC Offices California Health Benefit Exchange Disability Service Agencies Dept. of Rehabilitation Vocational Services Independent Living Centers Dept. of Developmental Services Regional Centers Dept. of Social Services Office of Deaf Access Contractors State and County Mental Health Providers Armed Forces Recruitment Offices Other Board of Equalization District Offices Franchise Tax Board District Offices 3

4 When Do Agencies Offer Voter Registration? NVRA requires agencies to offer voter registration when a person applies for: New services or benefits Renewal or recertification A change of name or address 4

5 How Do Agencies Offer Voter Registration? Hand out a voter registration card (VRC) Hand out an NVRA voter preference form Help the applicant register, if asked Forward voter registration forms daily Keep preference forms for 2 years 5

6 Who Should Register to Vote? Has never registered Moved to a new address Changed name Changed political party preference Not sure if registered to vote Has not voted in the last several elections 6

7 What Issues Might Come Up? Neutrality: Don t influence decision to register or party preference. In-home Assistance: Agency must still offer voter registration. Conservatorship: Court order must state incompetent to register to vote. Parent/Guardian: Offer registration to adults applying on behalf of children. Literacy: Not a requirement to register to vote. No SSN or DL: Not a requirement to register to vote. Signature: Applicant may mark an X or use a signature stamp. No street address: Space on form to describe location where applicant lives. 7

8 What Happens after a Person Registers? Voter Gets: Postcard Confirming Status Voting Materials Polling Place Location Ballot (for Vote-By-Mail Voters) 8

9 Questions about Voting? Call: County Elections Office Secretary of State's Voter Hotline: (800) 345-VOTE (8683) Visit: SOS.CA.GOV 9

10 What s New for California? New California Laws: Designate an NVRA Coordinator Register Agency with County Elections Office Get Voter Registration Forms from County Elections Office Offer Voter Registration in Other Languages Train Staff Annually New State Agency Instructions: DSS; DOR-Voc Serv; DOR-ILCs; DDS; Office of Deaf Access California Online Voter Registration Links: C-IV, Cal-Winn, LEADER Online Benefits Enrollment Department of Rehabilitation Vocational Services California Health Benefit Exchange 10

11 Tracking NVRA Voter Registrations Under the NVRA and state law, each of California s 58 county elections officials have a duty to track and report the number of voter registrations generated at each NVRA agency in the county. The only way elections officials can track is by keeping a record of the serial numbers on the Voter Registration Cards (VRCs) at each NVRA agency. The only way an NVRA agency can get credit is to get VRC supplies solely from the county elections and make sure the county elections office has a record of the serial numbers on your existing VRC supply. 11

12 NVRA Tracking (Step by step instructions) 1. Inventory the existing supply of VRCs at your NVRA agency and write down the serial number ranges on each supply (e.g. English VRCs # ; Spanish VRCs # ; etc.; Chinese VRCs # ). If your agency has more than one site, create a separate sheet listing the serial numbers at each site. 2. Look up the contact information for county elections office in the county or counties your agency serves. Statewide roster of county elections officials: sos.ca.gov/elections/elections_d.htm 3. Call the county elections office in your county and ask for the NVRA coordinator or the person who handles bulk VRC supplies to outside agencies and organizations. 12

13 NVRA Tracking (Step by step instructions) 4. Give your name, the full name of your agency, and explain that you are an NVRA agency in the county. Ask for confirmation that: the county has you listed on the county s roster of NVRA agencies; and the county tracks voter registrations from each of your agency s sites. Give the county the serial number ranges on the VRC supplies you currently have at each of your agency sites (as inventoried in #1 above). 5. Order new supplies of VRCs from the county elections office as needed, and always identify your agency when you make an order. 6. Check the SOS monthly website posting of NVRA registrations at each agency in each county: sos.ca.gov/elections/nvra/reports/sb35-nvra-monthly-reports.htm 7. If you run into difficulties, contact the Secretary of State for help. 13

14 Screening for voter eligibility Agencies don t screen for eligibility; that is the responsibility of the county elections official. The VRC emphasizes the citizenship requirement in three places: The top, the checkbox, and the affirmation, which users have to sign under penalty of perjury. As you help people register to vote you ll be bringing up the citizenship requirement three times (because that s how many times it comes up on the form). Agencies are not held liable when a person inadvertently helps someone register who is not eligible for whatever reason (criminal record, mentally incompetent, not old enough, non-citizen) 14

15 California Secretary of State SOS NVRA Liaison: Jennie Bretschneider SOS NVRA Coordinator: Rhonda Pascual Secretary of State Elections Division - NVRA Coordinator th Street, 5th Floor Sacramento, CA (916) nvra@sos.ca.gov sos.ca.gov/elections/nvra 15

16 National Voter Registration Act: Cal WIC Association Jonathan Stein Voting Rights Attorney

17 Why voter registration? CA ranks 45 th in the country in voter registration rate. There are 6.4 million unregistered eligible CA voters. People with low incomes and people with disabilities have lower voter registration rates and lower voting rates. Offices like yours are uniquely situated to register voters. You put voter registration opportunities in front of people who are otherwise not invited into our democracy. The NVRA works: Average monthly voter registrations at public assistance agencies are up 476% from 2009.

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19 SB 35: Tracking by Site Each WIC agency must report the location of each office or site to the county elections office. This is your responsibility under the law, not the county elections office s responsibility. NVRA agencies must order their voter registration cards from county elections officials only. County elections offices track the number of voter registrations received from each NVRA office or site. County elections officials send monthly reports of the number of registrations to the Secretary of State, which are then posted online.

20 How to Ensure Tracking by Site Three ways: 1. Identify an NVRA coordinator at each site. Have them call the county elections office and order VRCs. 2. Order VRCs at a central location; have one NVRA coordinator distribute them and inform county elections office which VRCs went to which sites. 3. Order VRCs at a central location; have one NVRA coordinator distribute them; have the sites call or the county elections office to inform them which VRCs were received.

21 To see your agency s report, visit:

22 Choose the SB 35 report

23 You Can Check to See How Many Voters Your Office Registered Each Month #of voter registrations in Nov 2013 Select your county Public Assistance offices in county

24 650 WIC sites in California. Only 125 in SOS reporting. Only 41 recorded a single voter registration in Nov. 2013!

25 Compliance Concerns at WIC There are ~650 WIC sites in California. Only 125 of those 650 appear in the November 2013 reports. Only 41 of those 650 WIC sites recorded a single voter registration in Nov 2013.

26 Compliance Concerns at WIC Many WIC networks do not track by site. Of CA s 58 counties, 24 counties did not track by WIC site (Dec 2013). Many WIC networks are not appearing in the reporting at all. Of CA s 58 counties, 15 do not report WIC at all. Total non-compliance in these counties? Many WIC networks regularly report zero registrations. Of CA s 58 counties, 23 reported zero registrations at all WIC locations.

27 September 2013 Registrations at Various Public Assistance Offices #of Counties Where Office Appears in Reports # of Counties With at Least One Registration Number of Registrations Total in CA Caseload County Welfare Offices In-Home Supportive Services 58 of of 58 2, of 58 4 of CalFRESH apps received: 174, ,991 participants (August 2013) WIC Offices 43 of of Ave. monthly participation in 2013: 1.43M

28 Problems with the Numbers? Contact your county elections office to see if they are tracking your voter registration cards. Make sure your county elections official tracks by site. They should know where each of your office s sites are, and the voter registrations card serial numbers at each site. Let your county elections official know who your office s NVRA coordinator is. Establish a relationship!

29 Other Best Practices If someone indicates on the voter preference form that she wishes to register, do not send her home with a VRC. Fill the VRC out right then and there. Adults applying on behalf of children MUST receive voter registration services. CA DPH has updated its policy to address this. Written NVRA procedures for your office.

30 Other Best Practices Mail completed cards daily. Postage paid and pre-addressed. Make sure clients know that they must reregister when they move or change their name, to avoid problems on Election Day. Can t discourage someone from voting, under federal law. But you can encourage.

31 Other Best Practices Do not attempt to determine a client s eligibility to vote. We know you work with a substantial population of non-citizens. It is not your role or responsibility to screen for voter eligibility. Rules around age and citizenship are simple, but the rules around past criminal convictions, are not. County elections officials will screen. CA DPH has provided strong training materials you can use to train your staff.

32 Language Requirements The federal Voting Rights Act determines languages in which you are required to have voter reg materials. Ask your county elections office about your language requirements. Voter registration cards: Available in all required county elections office. Voter preference forms: Available in all required languages on SOS website. You must print. When to provide materials in a non-english language? Need language you don t have? Check the SOS website.

33 Questions? We want to help! Jonathan Stein Voting Rights Attorney