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Right Number, But the Wrong Answer
A Survey of New York 's Local Boards of Elections' Answers
about New Identification Requirements for Voters
Appendix B: [Proposed] Guidelines From New YorkState Board Of Elections To CountyBoards Of Elections Regarding Hava’s Voter Identification Requirements
1 Only first-time voters who register by mail should be subject to ID requirements. Under HAVA, only those first-time voters registering by mail are subject to ID checks.(1) This means that any first-time voter registration forms delivered by hand to the county board – whether by individuals, political parties, community groups or unions – are exempt from the ID requirements. Voter registration drives that collect registration applications from new voters in person and then deliver these applications to election officials by hand should not be subject to the ID requirements under HAVA. In addition, any voter registration applications received by an overnight courier service (e.g., FedEx, UPS, etc.) that is not operated by the U.S. Postal Service should not be considered “by mail” and should not be flagged for ID checks.
To facilitate these requirements, the county board should segregate voter registration forms received by mail from other registration forms received, and only those applicants should be flagged in the board’s database as potentially subject to ID requirements.
Finally, if a county board receives a hand delivered voter registration application (or receives one from an overnight courier service) from a voter whose residence address is outside its jurisdiction, but still within New York State, such application should be considered exempt from HAVA's ID requirements even if subsequently mailed to the appropriate board.
2 Voters subject to the new ID requirements should be sent a letter advising them of these requirements and providing them an opportunity to submit the required ID in advance of Election Day. To minimize potential confusion and disfranchisement of voters at the polls, all boards of elections should send a letter to first-time voters who register by mail advising them of HAVA’s ID requirements, requesting that they submit a copy of the appropriate ID, and explaining that if they do not provide ID in advance of Election Day, they may be asked to do so the first time they vote. The letter should include a non-exclusive list of acceptable forms of identification and clear instructions for the voter to send a copy of his or her qualifying identification in advance of Election Day. A postage-paid return mailer should be included in said mailing.
3 The county board should adopt a clear, inclusive list of ID acceptable for implementation of HAVA’s new ID requirements. HAVA requires that election officials accept “a current and valid photo identification or . . . a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that shows the name and address of the voter”(2) Current and “valid photo identification” shall include any form of ID containing a photograph of the voter, including non-driver’s identification, valid student identification cards, and credit or automated teller cards. A “current utility bill, bank statement, government check, pay check, or other government document” should include a broad range of public documentation. A list of acceptable forms of identification is attached for your use and should be distributed to all poll workers and present at each election district on Election Day. That list is not intended to be exclusive of other forms of identification and should not be used without clarifying to election workers and officials, and to voters, that other forms of identification will also be accepted if they fall within the definition above.
4 In the case of voters who are unable to provide a driver’s license number or last four digits of a Social Security number, the county board should process the voter registration application. HAVA requires that all new registrants provide either a driver’s license number or the last four digits of a Social Security number.(3) However, failure to provide either of these numbers must not result in a rejection of the application. Instead, HAVA mandates that election officials assign the applicant a unique identifier.(4) The county board should assign a unique identifier number and process the application as it would any other application form.
5 Until the statewide database is operational, election officials should treat all first-time registration applications that include a driver’s license number or the last four digits of a Social Security number as having been verified and those applicants should not be asked to provide additional identification at the polls. Under HAVA, a first-time voter who has registered to vote by mail after January 1, 2003 must present a current and valid photo identification, utility bill, bank statement, government check, pay check, or government document that shows the voters’ name and address.(5) However, these identification provisions for first-time voters who register by mail do not apply to any registrant who “submits as part of such registration either a driver’s license number or the last four digits of a Social Security Number and whose information the board of elections or other election officer matches with an existing identification record in a state database or file.”(6) The State Board has sought a waiver from the federal Election Assistance Commission for implementation of its computerized statewide voter registration database until January 1, 2006. Until that time, first-time voters who register by mail and who submit a driver’s license number or Social Security number should not be subjected to additional ID checks at the polls. The drafters of HAVA made clear that the state has a responsibility to implement HAVA in a manner that preserves voters’ access to registration, and voters should not be forced to bear the burden of providing additional documentation because the state had not yet instituted a system to verify their identification numbers.
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6. Voters who cannot provide ID at the polls must be allowed to vote by affidavit ballot. In the case of a voter who desires to vote but does not meet the identification requirements, he or she must be allowed to cast a provisional ballot (or, in New York , an affidavit ballot) in person or by mail and the ballot must be counted in accordance with state law.(7) Thus, if a voter is given an affidavit ballot at the polling place because of insufficient identification, the ballot must be counted unless there is an affirmative showing that the registration is fraudulent because New York law does not contain any identification requirements.
7 Voters must be notified whether the ballot was counted. HAVA requires that all voters who cast provisional ballots be notified whether their votes were counted.(8) This is consistent with New York law, which already requires that voters whose affidavit ballots were not counted be notified by their board of elections. (9)
8 Poll workers should be educated about the new voter identification requirements. All election workers must participate in a detailed training program that explains HAVA’s new requirements, including the ID requirements, and pass a closed-book examination, as mandated by Section 3-412(3) of the Election Law. In addition, boards of elections should ensure that all language interpreters are sufficiently trained and have adequate quality control measures in place in every polling place to ensure that language assistance is provided where required.
9 Voters should be provided with a Bill of Rights. HAVA requires that all polling places must post certain information on Election Day, including but not limited to a sample ballot, instructions on how to cast an affidavit ballot, polling place hours, general information on voting rights under state and federal laws, and instructions for first-time voters who registered to vote by mail. This Voters’ Bill of Rights should be mailed to every registered voter prior to the election. Elections officials should also request that major news media display or announce these rights as part of their election coverage, and display these rights prominently on their websites. Translated versions should be posted in Spanish, Chinese, and Korean, and in other languages not covered by the Voting Rights Act but spoken by a large number of citizens in your county.
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