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2007 SESSION
072203536Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §§ 24.2-101, 24.2-107, 24.2-442, 24.2-443.3, and 24.2-444 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 24.2-101. Definitions.
As used in this title, unless the context requires a different meaning:
"Candidate" means a person who seeks or campaigns for an office of the Commonwealth or one of its governmental units in a general, primary, or special election and who is qualified to have his name placed on the ballot for the office. "Candidate" shall include a person who seeks the nomination of a political party or who, by reason of receiving the nomination of a political party for election to an office, is referred to as its nominee. For the purposes of Chapters 8 (§ 24.2-800 et seq.), 9.3 (§ 24.2-945 et seq.), and 9.5 (§ 24.2-955 et seq.), "candidate" shall include any write-in candidate. However, no write-in candidate who has received less than 15 percent of the votes cast for the office shall be eligible to initiate an election contest pursuant to Article 2 (§ 24.2-803 et seq.) of Chapter 8. For the purposes of Chapters 9.3 (§ 24.2-945 et seq.) and 9.5 (§ 24.2-955 et seq.), "candidate" shall include any person who raises or spends funds in order to seek or campaign for an office of the Commonwealth, excluding federal offices, or one of its governmental units in a party nomination process or general, primary, or special election; and such person shall be considered a candidate until a final report is filed pursuant to Article 3 (§ 24.2-947 et seq.) of Chapter 9.3.
"Central absentee voter precinct" means a precinct established by a county or city pursuant to § 24.2-712 for the processing of absentee ballots for the county or city or any combination of precincts within the county or city.
"Constitutional office" or "constitutional officer" means a county or city office or officer referred to in Article VII, Section 4 of the Constitution of Virginia: clerk of the circuit court, attorney for the Commonwealth, sheriff, commissioner of the revenue, and treasurer.
"Election" means a general, primary, or special election.
"Election district" means the territory designated by proper authority or by law which is represented by an official elected by the people, including the Commonwealth, a congressional district, a General Assembly district, or a district for the election of an official of a county, city, town, or other governmental unit.
"Electoral board" or "local electoral board" means a board appointed pursuant to § 24.2-106 to administer elections for a county or city. The electoral board of the county in which a town or the greater part of a town is located shall administer the town's elections.
"General election" means an election held in the Commonwealth on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November or on the first Tuesday in May for the purpose of filling offices regularly scheduled by law to be filled at those times.
"Officer of election" means a person appointed by an electoral board pursuant to § 24.2-115 to serve at a polling place for any election.
"Party" or "political party" means an organization of citizens of the Commonwealth which, at either of the two preceding statewide general elections, received at least 10 percent of the total vote cast for any statewide office filled in that election. The organization shall have a state central committee and an office of elected state chairman which have been continually in existence for the six months preceding the filing of a nominee for any office.
"Polling place" means the one place provided for each precinct at which the qualified voters who are residents of the precinct may vote.
"Precinct" means the territory designated by the governing body of a county, city, or town to be served by one polling place.
"Primary" or "primary election" means an election held for the purpose of selecting a candidate to be the nominee of a political party for election to office.
"Qualified voter" means a person who is entitled to vote pursuant to the Constitution of Virginia and who is (i) 18 years of age on or before the day of the election or qualified pursuant to § 24.2-403 or subsection D of § 24.2-544, (ii) a resident of the Commonwealth and of the precinct in which he offers to vote, and (iii) registered to vote. No person who has been convicted of a felony shall be a qualified voter unless his civil rights have been restored by the Governor or other appropriate authority. No person adjudicated incapacitated shall be a qualified voter unless his capacity has been reestablished as provided by law.
"Qualified voter in a town" means a person who is a resident within the corporate boundaries of the town in which he offers to vote, duly registered in the county of his residence, and otherwise a qualified voter.
"Referendum" means any election held pursuant to law to submit a question to the voters for approval or rejection.
"Registered voter" means any person who is maintained on the Virginia voter registration system. All registered voters shall be maintained on the Virginia voter registration system with active status unless assigned to inactive status by a general registrar in accordance with Chapter 4 (§ 24.2-400 et seq.). For purposes of applying the precinct size requirements of § 24.2-307, calculating election machine requirements pursuant to Article 3 (§ 24.2-625 et seq.) of Chapter 6, mailing notices of local election district, precinct or polling place changes as required by subdivision 13 of § 24.2-114 and § 24.2-306, and determining the number of signatures required for candidate and voter petitions, "registered voter" shall include only persons maintained on the Virginia voter registration system with active status.
"Registration records" means all official records concerning the registration of qualified voters and shall include all records, lists, applications, and files, whether maintained in books, on cards, on automated data bases, or by any other legally permitted record-keeping method.
"Residence" or "resident," for all purposes of qualification to register and vote, means and requires both domicile and a place of abode. In determining domicile, consideration may be given to a person's expressed intent, conduct, and all attendant circumstances including, but not limited to, financial independence, business pursuits, employment, income sources, residence for income tax purposes, marital status, residence of parents, spouse and children, if any, leasehold, sites of personal and real property owned by the person, motor vehicle and other personal property registration, and other factors reasonably necessary to determine the qualification of a person to register or vote.
"Special election" means any election that is held pursuant to law to fill a vacancy in office or to hold a referendum.
"State Board" or "Board" means the State Board of Elections.
"Virginia voter registration system" or "voter registration system" means the automated central record-keeping system for all voters registered within the Commonwealth that is maintained as provided in Article 2 (§ 24.2-404 et seq.) of Chapter 4.
§ 24.2-107. Meetings; quorum; notice; account of proceedings; seal; records open to inspection.
The electoral board of each city and county shall meet during the first week in February and during the month of March each year at the time set by the board and at any other time on the call of any board member. Two members shall constitute a quorum. Notice of each meeting shall be given to all board members either by the secretary or the member calling the meeting at least three business days prior to the meeting except in the case of an emergency as defined in § 2.2-3701. Notice shall be given to the public as required by § 2.2-3707. All meetings shall be conducted in accordance with the requirements of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700 et seq.) unless otherwise provided by this section. Notwithstanding the public notice requirements of § 2.2-3707, two or more members of an electoral board may meet on election day to discuss a matter concerning that day's election, where such matter requires resolution on that day, and an effort has been made by all available means to give notice of the meeting to all board members. The presence of two or more board members while the ballots, election materials, or voting equipment are being prepared, current or potential polling places are being inspected, or election officials are being trained, shall not constitute a meeting provided that no discussion or deliberation takes place that would otherwise constitute a meeting.
The secretary shall keep an accurate account of all board proceedings in a minute book, including all appointments and removals of general registrars and officers of election. The secretary shall keep in his custody the duly adopted seal of the board.
Books, papers, and records of the board, other than voter
registration records, shall be open to public inspection by any
registered voter whenever the general registrar's office is open
for business either at the office of the board or the office of the general
registrar.
No election record containing an individual's social security number shall be made available for inspection or copying by anyone. The State Board of Elections shall prescribe procedures for local electoral boards and general registrars to make the information in certificates of candidate qualification available in a manner that does not reveal social security numbers.
§ 24.2-442. When registration permitted; lapse of registration.
The general registrar shall maintain and make
available for inspection by any registered voter the applications for temporary
registration for his jurisdiction and separate lists for each precinct of
persons registering to vote in the federal election. Registration under this article shall
be permitted until the registration records are closed pursuant to § 24.2-416
and shall be valid for all elections for which the voter is eligible through
the next two regularly scheduled general elections for federal office following
its receipt. After the second federal general election, registration under this
article shall no longer be valid. If an official reply to the application or an
absentee ballot sent to the applicant is returned as undeliverable, no ballots
for subsequent elections shall be sent under that application. No ballot shall
be sent to the applicant, and no voted ballot received from the applicant shall
be valid, (i) for any election held after the voter has notified the registrar
that the voter no longer wishes to be registered or (ii) after the registrar
has received notification that the voter has registered to vote in another
state.
§ 24.2-443.3. When registration permitted.
The general registrar shall maintain and make
available for inspection by any registered voter the applications for temporary
registration for his jurisdiction and separate lists for each precinct of
persons registering to vote pursuant to this article. Registration
under this article shall be permitted until the registration records are closed
pursuant to § 24.2-416 and shall be valid for all elections for which the voter
is eligible through the next two regularly scheduled general elections for
federal office following its receipt. If an official reply to the application
or an absentee ballot sent to the applicant is returned as undeliverable, no
ballots for subsequent elections shall be sent under that application. No
ballot shall be sent to the applicant, and no voted ballot received from the
applicant shall be valid, (i) for any election held after the voter has
notified the registrar that the voter no longer wishes to be registered or (ii)
after the registrar has received notification that the voter has registered to
vote in another state.
§ 24.2-444. Duties of general registrars and State Board of Elections as to voter registration records; public inspection; exceptions.
A. Except for records
relating to the declinations to register to vote or the identity of a voter
registration agency through which a particular voter is registered, registration Registration
records shall be kept and preserved by the general registrar and
in compliance with §§
2.2-3803, 2.2-3808, and 24.2-114. The State Board
shall provide to each general registrar, for each precinct in his county or
city, lists of registered voters for inspection and lists of persons registering pursuant to § 24.2-442 and 24.2-443.3.
The lists shall contain the name,
address, date of birth, gender, and all election districts applicable to each registered voter. The
lists shall be opened to public inspection by any registered
voter at the office of the general registrar when the office is
open for business. New lists shall be provided not less than once each
year to all localities except those in which an updated list is made available
electronically for public inspection, and supplements containing additions,
deletions, and changes shall
be provided not less than (i) weekly during the 60 days preceding any general
election and (ii) monthly at other times. Notwithstanding any other provision
of law regarding the retention of records, upon receipt of any new complete
list, the general registrar shall destroy the obsolete list and its
supplements. No voter registration record containing an
individual's social security number shall be made available for inspection or
copying by anyone. No voter registration record containing an individual's
residence address shall be made available for inspection or copying by anyone
if the individual has furnished a post office box address in lieu of his
residence address as authorized by § 24.2-418.
B. The general registrars shall maintain for at least two
years and shall make available for public inspection and copying and, where
available, photocopying at a reasonable cost, all records concerning the
implementation of programs and activities conducted for the purpose of ensuring
the accuracy and currency of the registration records, except to the extent that the records relate to the declination to register to
vote or the identity of a voter registration agency through which any
particular voter is registered. The records
maintained shall include
lists of the names and addresses of all persons to whom notices are sent
pursuant to §§ 24.2-427, 24.2-428 and 24.2-428.1,
including lists of the names and addresses
of all persons to whom notices are sent, and information
concerning whether each person has responded to the notice as of the date that
inspection of the records is made.
C. The State Board shall provide to each general
registrar, for each precinct in his county or city, lists of registered voters
for inspection. The lists shall contain the name, addresses, date of birth,
gender and all election districts applicable to each registered voter. New
lists shall be provided not less than once each year to all localities except
those in which an updated list is made available electronically for public
inspection, and supplements containing additions, deletions and changes shall
be provided not less than (i) weekly during the 60 days preceding any general
election and (ii) monthly at other times. Notwithstanding any
other provision of law regarding the retention of records, upon receipt of any
new complete list, the general registrar shall destroy the obsolete list and
its supplements. No list provided by the State Board under subsection A nor any record
made available for
public inspection under subsection B shall contain
any of the following information: (i)
an individual's social security number, or any part thereof; (ii) the
residence address of an individual who has furnished a post office box address
in lieu of his residence address as authorized by § 24.2-418; (iii)
the declination by an individual to register to
vote and related records; or (iv)
the identity of a voter registration agency through
which a particular voter is registered. No voter
registration records other than the
lists provided by the State Board under subsection A and the
records made available
under subsection B shall be open to
public inspection.