National Voter Registration Act and Senate Bill 35

National Voter Registration Act and Senate Bill 35Training for County Elections OfficialsNational Voter Registration Act (NVRA)The NVRA was signed into law in 1993Requires governmental agencies to offer voter registrationKnown as Motor VoterMust offer voter registration at all DMV officesAlso reaches people who may not visit DMVMust offer voter registration at any public assistance agencyMust offer voter registration at any agency primarily serving people with disabilitiesStates that it is the duty of federal, state and local governments to promote voting

NVRA GoalsMake it easy for Americans to register to voteRemedy past discriminationIn voting and in voter registrationSafeguards against purging voter rollsIncrease voter registration in underserved communitiesOffices like yours can empower individuals who are left out of our democracyPromote voting as a fundamental rightWhats Going on in California (Senate Bill 35)California Law (SB 35)Effective January 2013Codified the NVRA into California law and added new requirementsElection Code sections 2400-2408Places requirements on County Elections Officials, NVRA agencies, and the Secretary of States (SOS) Office.Puts into place voter registration accountabilityCounty Elections Officials play a big role in this

Why Voter Registration MattersCalifornia has 6.8 million unregistered eligible votersIn 2014, California ranked 28th in the nation for voter registrationPeople cant vote unless they are registeredIn 2014, California ranked 43rd in the nation for voter participationLow-income Californians are more likely to be unregistered

Source: Secretary of StateWho Must Offer Voter Registration?Public Assistance AgenciesCounty Health/Human Service Offices (CalFresh, CalWORKS, Medi-Cal)In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS)Woman, Infant, and Children (WIC) OfficesCovered California (Californias Health Benefit Exchange/HBEX)Disability Service AgenciesDept. of Rehabilitation Vocational Rehabilitation ServicesDept. of Rehabilitation Independent Living CentersDept. of Developmental Services Regional CentersDept. of Social Services Office of Deaf Access ContractorsState and County Mental Health Providers

Who Must Offer Voter Registration? (contd)DMV OfficesArmed Forces Recruitment OfficesBoard of Equalization District OfficesFranchise Tax Board District Offices

The Core of the NVRA/SB 35 County Elections OfficialsCounty Elections Officials MustDesignate an NVRA CoordinatorPlace known NVRA agencies, and their offices and sites, on the County RosterTrack the Voter Registration Cards (VRCs) provided to NVRA agencies, and each of their offices and sitesReport to SOS: On monthly basis the number of voter registrations from NVRA agencies, and each of their offices and sitesOn biennial basis voter registration numbers for the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) Assist NVRA agencies with training, upon request

SB 35 County Elections Officials & TrackingPlace Known NVRA Agencies on County RosterNVRA agencies will contact your office to introduce themselvesThey should identify their NVRA coordinatorThey should identify each of their offices and sites within the countyYou must place them, and each of their offices and sites, on your County Roster of NVRA agenciesIf you know of NVRA agencies within your county that have not contacted your office, please reach out to them

SB 35 County Elections Officials & Tracking (contd)Finding NVRA Public Assistance Agencies in Your CountyCounty Social Services Departments (CalFresh, CalWORKS, Medi-Cal)http://www.cdss.ca.gov/foodstamps/pg839.htmIn-Home Supportive Services (IHSS)http://www.cdss.ca.gov/agedblinddisabled/pg1785.htmWomen, Infants, and Children (WIC)http://www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/wicworks/pages/CAMD-WICNetworkDirectory.aspx

SB 35 County Elections Officials & Tracking (contd)Finding NVRA Public Assistance Agencies in Your CountyDepartment of Rehabilitation offices offering vocational rehab serviceshttp://www.rehab.cahwnet.gov/DOR-Locations/index.aspIndependent Living Centers (ILC)http://www.rehab.cahwnet.gov/ILS/ILC-List.htmlRegional Centers (RC)http://www.dds.ca.gov/RC/RCList.cfmContractors with the Office of Deaf Accesshttp://www.cdss.ca.gov/cdssweb/entres/pdf/ODA/DeafAccessProgram.pdfState and county mental health providers and contractorshttp://www.dhcs.ca.gov/services/mh/Documents/CMHDA.pdfSB 35 County Elections Officials & Tracking (contd)Request and Review Inventory Sheets of Existing VRCs from NVRA AgenciesNVRA agencies, and each of their offices and sites, should submit Inventory Sheets to your officeThe Inventory Sheets will contain the serial numbers of the agencies (offices and sites) current stock of VRCsPlease review the Inventory Sheets to confirm that the serial numbers of the listed VRCs are on record at your office and that they correspond to the agency, and each of their offices and sitesSB 35 County Elections Officials & Tracking (contd)Provide VRCs to NVRA AgenciesWhen NVRA agencies, and each of their offices and sites, request VRCs from your office, the serial numbers must be documented by your officeThe tracking must be done by agency and by each of their offices and sitesThe tracking of serial numbers is a vital step in the disbursement and tracking processThis ensures the agency, and each of their offices and sites, are credited for complying with the NVRA when VRCs are returned by their participantsSB 35 County Elections Officials & Reporting to SOSBy the 10th of each month: report NVRA agencies voter registration numbersOne-page report of NVRA category totalsPA/DA/AF/Other/UndistinguishedA spreadsheet containing a list of the NVRA agency offices and sites in the county with voter registration totals for each siteHHS, HBEX, IHSS, WIC, ILC, RC, FTB, etc.Review monthly spreadsheet to ensure all NVRA offices and sites are listedReview monthly spreadsheet to ensure that all duplicate offices and/or sites are removedSB 35 county Elections Officials & Reporting (contd)Biennially: report voter registration numbers for EAC reportThe monthly SOS reports can be found atwww.sos.ca.gov/elections/voter-registration/nvra/reports/sb35-nvra-monthly-reports/The biennial EAC reports can be found at www.sos.ca.gov/elections/voter-registration/nvra/reports/ca-biennial-report-eac/If you need assistance with tracking or reporting, contact the SOS officeNavigating the SOS Website

Choose the SB 35 report

NVRA Agency SpreadsheetNumber of voter registrations in JanuaryPublic Assistance offices in the countySelect your countyThe Core of the NVRA/SB 35 - SOSSOS MustCoordinate with County Elections Officials, NVRA agencies, and state agenciesPrepare training materialsMonitor and assist with implementationPublish monthly reports with voter registration numbers from NVRA agencies and each of their offices and sitesPublish biennial voter registration reports for the EAC

The Core of the NVRA/SB 35 NVRA AgenciesNVRA Agencies MustDesignate an NVRA CoordinatorRegister agency and all of its offices and sites with the County Elections OfficialOrder VRCs from County Elections Officials, and print Voter Preference Forms from SOS website in all required Voting Rights Act languagesOffer voter registration in other languagesMail completed VRCs to the County Elections Official dailyTrain staff annuallyProvide the opportunity for clients to register to vote online, if availableThe Core of the NVRA/SB 35 NVRA Agencies (contd)Must Offer Voter Registration byOffering 2 formsVoter Registration Cards (VRCs) Available from County Elections OfficialsVoter Preference Forms Available from SOS website in 10 languages www.sos.ca.gov.elections/nvra/training/voter-preference- forms.htmAt 3 opportunitiesApplication for new services or benefitsApplication for renewal or recertificationNotification of change of name or addressState Agency NVRA/SB 35 Instructions- Public Assistance AgenciesMany state agencies have provided specific NVRA/SB 35 instruction to their programs/staffState Public Assistance AgenciesDept. of Public Health Women, Infants, and Children Program (November 2011)Dept. of Social Services County Welfare Departments (CalFresh, CalWORKS, SAWS Consortium) (February 2013)Dept. of Health Care Services Medi-Cal (July 2014)Covered California (October 2014)

State Agency NVRA/SB 35 Instructions- Disability Service AgenciesState Disability Service AgenciesDept. of Rehabilitation Vocational Rehabilitation Services (January 2013)Dept. of Rehabilitation Independent Living Centers (October 2013)Dept. of Developmental Services Regional Centers (March 2013)Dept. of Social Services Deaf Access Program (December 2012)State agency instructions an be found athttp://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/voter-registration/nvra/voter-registration-agencies/nvra-agency-guidance-letters/Resources County Elections OfficialsSOS Website ResourcesNVRA Reporting sos.ca.gov/elections/voter-registration/nvra/county-reporting-responsibilities/NVRA Manual - sos.ca.gov/elections/voter-registration/nvra/laws-standards/nvra-manual/NVRA Training - sos.ca.gov/elections/voter-registration/nvra/training/Additional ResourcesACLUs Toolkit aclusandiego.org/NVRA-toolkit/Disability Rights California disabilityrightsca.org/pubs/PublicationsVoting.htmDisability Etiquette unitedspinal.org/pdf/DisabilityEtiquette.pdfResources NVRA Agency CoordinatorsSOS Website ResourcesNVRA Reporting sos.ca.gov/elections/voter-registration/nvra/county-reporting-responsibilities/NVRA Manual - sos.ca.gov/elections/voter-registration/nvra/laws-standards/nvra-manual/NVRA Training - sos.ca.gov/elections/voter-registration/nvra/training/Additional ResourcesACLUs Toolkit aclusandiego.org/NVRA-toolkit/Disability Rights California disabilityrightsca.org/pubs/PublicationsVoting.htmDisability Etiquette unitedspinal.org/pdf/DisabilityEtiquette.pdf

Resources NVRA Agency StaffSOS Website ResourcesNVRA Manual sos.ca.gov/elections/voter-registration/nvra/laws-standards/nvra-manual/NVRA Training- sos.ca.gov/elections/voter-registration/nvra/training/Voters with Disabilities - sos.ca.gov/elections/voting-resources/voter-disabilities/Californians with Criminal Convictions or Detained in Jail or Prison sos.ca.gov/elections/voting-resources/new-voters/who-can-vote-california/voting-rights-californians/Additional ResourcesACLUs Toolkit aclusandiego.org/NVRA-toolkit/Disability Rights California disabilityrightsca.org/pubs/PublicationsVoting.htmDisability Etiquette unitedspinal.org/pdf/DisabilityEtiquette.pdf

Questions?Visitsos.ca.govRegisterToVote.ca.govSOS Voter HotlinesEnglish.(800) 345-VOTE (8683)Chinese(800) 339-2857Spanish.(800) 232-VOTA (8682)Hindi.(888) 345-2692Japanese..(800) 339-2865Khmer(888) 345-4917Korean..(866) 575-1558Tagalog.(800) 339-2957Thai(855) 345-3933Vietnamese..(800) 339-8163TTY/TDD..(800) 833-8683

Secretary of State NVRA InformationSOS NVRA CoordinatorsSteven Carda and Rachelle DelucchiSOS NVRA Websitesos.ca.gov/elections/nvraSOS NVRA Contact InformationPhone: (916) 657-2166Fax: (916) 653-3214Email: nvra@sos.ca.gov