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1994 SESSION


CHAPTER 656
An Act to amend and reenact §§ 24.2-107, 24.2-405, 24.2-444 and 24.2-706 of the Code of Virginia and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding sections numbered 2.1-342.1 and 24.2-407.1, relating to voter registration and election records.
[H 823]
Approved April 10, 1994

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That §§ 24.2-107, 24.2-405, 24.2-444 and 24.2-706 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted and that the Code of Virginia is amended by adding sections numbered 2.1-342.1 and 24.2-407.1 as follows:

§ 2.1-342.1. Official voter registration and election records.

Public access to voter registration and election records shall be governed by the provisions of Title 24.2 and this chapter. The provisions of Title 24.2 shall be controlling in the event of any conflict.

§ 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 one day prior to the meeting. Notice may be waived only by agreement of all board members.

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 shall be open to 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.

§ 24.2-405. Persons who may obtain lists of registered voters.

The State Board shall furnish, at a reasonable price, lists of registered voters for their districts to (i) courts of the Commonwealth and the United States for jury selection purposes, (ii) candidates for election or political party nomination to further their candidacy, (iii) political party committees or officials thereof for political purposes only, (iv) incumbent officeholders to report to their constituents, and (v) nonprofit organizations which promote voter participation and registration for that purpose only. The lists shall be furnished to no one else and used for no other purpose, except that the State Board is authorized to furnish information from the voter registration system to general registrars for their official use.

In no event shall any printed precinct list furnished under this section contain the social security number of any registered voter except a list furnished to a court of the Commonwealth or of the United States for jury selection purposes.

§ 24.2-407.1. Prohibition on disclosure of social security numbers.

It shall be unlawful for any person who has obtained, under § 24.2-405 or § 24.2-406 or any prior law, a list of persons registered or voting which contained social security numbers to disclose any voter's social security number to any other person. Any person maintaining a system containing social security numbers obtained from the Board shall delete or destroy the portion of his records containing those numbers.

§ 24.2-444. Registration records open to public inspection.

Registration records shall be kept and preserved by the general registrar and shall be opened to inspection by any registered voter at the office of the general registrar when the office is open for business. The registration records shall be available for inspection by appointment, made by the general registrar for any reasonable time requested. No voter registration record containing an individual's social security number shall be made available for inspection or copying by anyone.

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 two times each year, and supplements containing additions, deletions and changes shall be provided not less than (i) weekly during the sixty 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.

§ 24.2-706. Duty of general registrar and electoral board on receipt of application; statement of voter.

On receipt of an application for an absentee ballot, the general registrar shall enroll the name and address of each registered applicant on an absentee voter applicant list which shall be maintained in the office of the general registrar with a file of the applications of the listed applicants. The list and the applications shall be available for inspection and copying by any registered voter during regular office hours.

No list or application 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 the lists and applications available in a manner that does not reveal social security numbers.

The completion and timely delivery of an application for an absentee ballot shall be construed to be an offer by the applicant to vote in the election.

The general registrar shall note on each application received whether the applicant is or is not a registered voter and notify the secretary of the electoral board. If the application has been properly completed, signed, and witnessed and the applicant is a registered voter of the precinct in which he offers to vote, the electoral board shall immediately send to the applicant by mail, obtaining a certificate of mailing, or deliver to him in person in the office of the secretary or registrar, the following items and nothing else:

1. An envelope containing the folded ballot, sealed and marked "Ballot within. Do not open except in presence of a witness."

2. An envelope for resealing the marked ballot, on which envelope is printed the following:

"Statement of Voter."

"I do hereby state, subject to felony penalties for making false statements pursuant to § 24.2-1016, that my full name is ..............; that I am a citizen of the United States, a qualified voter of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and duly registered in the county or city of ............ (or my application for absentee registration accompanies this ballot envelope); that I am now or have been at some time since the last November general election an actual resident of ............... (address of residence where registered to vote); that I am at least eighteen years of age (or will be on the .... day of ............); that the enclosed ballot was received by me upon my application to the registrar of such county or city; that the envelope marked 'ballot within' was opened by me in the presence of the witness whose signature appears below; that I marked the ballot while in his the presence of the witness, without assistance or knowledge on the part of anyone as to the manner in which I marked it (or I am returning the ballot with the form required to report how I was assisted); that I then sealed the ballot in this envelope; and that I have not voted in this election at any other time or place and will not vote in this election elsewhere.

Signature of Voter .........................
Date ............................................

Signature of witness ........................"

3. A properly addressed envelope for the return of the ballot to the electoral board by mail or by the applicant in person.

4. Printed instructions for completing the ballot and statement on the envelope and returning the ballot.

The envelopes and instructions shall be in the form prescribed by the State Board.

If the applicant makes his application to vote in person under § 24.2-701 at a time when the printed ballots for the election are available, the general registrar or the secretary of the electoral board, on the determination of the qualifications of the applicant to vote, shall provide to the applicant the items set forth in subdivisions 1 through 4 above and no item shall be removed by the applicant from the office of the general registrar or the secretary of the electoral board.

If the applicant states as the reason for his absence on election day any of the reasons set forth in subdivision 2 of § 24.2-700, the electoral board shall mail or deliver in person to the applicant in the office of the secretary or general registrar, the items as set forth in subdivisions 1 through 4 above and, if necessary, an application for registration pursuant to § 24.2-419. A certificate of mailing shall not be required.

When the statement prescribed in subdivision 2 above has been properly completed and signed by the registered voter and witnessed, his ballot shall not be subject to challenge pursuant to § 24.2-651.