SB1376: Absentee voting; processing of absentee ballots before election day.
SENATE BILL NO. 1376
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §§ 24.2-101, 24.2-603, 24.2-709.1, 24.2-710, 24.2-711, and 24.2-712 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted and that the Code of Virginia is amended by adding a section numbered 24.2-667.1 as follows:
§ 24.2-101. Definitions.
As used in this title, unless the context requires a different meaning:
"Ballot scanner machine" means the electronic counting machine in which a voter inserts a marked ballot to be scanned and the results tabulated.
"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.
"Department of Elections" or "Department" means the state agency headed by the Commissioner of Elections.
"Direct recording electronic machine" or "DRE" means the electronic voting machine on which a voter touches areas of a computer screen, or uses other control features, to mark a ballot and his vote is recorded electronically.
"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.
"Entrance of polling place" or "entrance to polling place" means an opening in the wall used for ingress to a structure.
"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.
"General registrar" means the person appointed by the electoral board of a county or city pursuant to § 24.2-110 to be responsible for all aspects of voter registration, in addition to other duties prescribed by this title. When performing duties related to the administration of elections, the general registrar is acting in his capacity as the director of elections for the locality in which he serves.
"Machine-readable ballot" means a tangible ballot that is marked by a voter or by a system or device operated by a voter, is available for verification by the voter at the time the ballot is cast, and is then fed into and scanned by a separate counting machine capable of reading ballots and tabulating results.
"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.
"Paper ballot" means a tangible ballot that is marked by a voter and then manually counted.
"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.
"Person with a disability" means a person with a disability as defined by the Virginians with Disabilities Act (§ 51.5-1 et seq.).
"Polling place" means the structure that contains 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.
"Printed ballot" means a tangible ballot that is printed on paper and includes both machine-readable ballots and paper ballots.
"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) a registered voter. 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. Whether a signature should be counted towards satisfying the signature requirement of any petition shall be determined based on the signer of the petition's qualification to vote. For purposes of determining if a signature on a petition shall be included in the count toward meeting the signature requirements of any petition, "qualified voter" shall include only persons maintained on the Virginia voter registration system (a) with active status and (b) with inactive status who are qualified to vote for the office for which the petition was circulated.
"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. For purposes of determining if a signature on a petition shall be included in the count toward meeting the signature requirements of any petition, "registered voter" shall include only persons maintained on the Virginia voter registration system (i) with active status and (ii) on inactive status who are qualified to vote for the office for which the petition was circulated.
"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. To establish domicile, a person must live in a particular locality with the intention to remain. A place of abode is the physical place where a person dwells.
"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.
"Voting system" means the electronic voting and counting machines used at elections. This term includes direct recording electronic machines (DRE) and ballot scanner machines.
§ 24.2-603. Hours polls to be open; closing the polls.
At all elections, the polls shall be open at each polling
place at 6:00 a.m. on the day of the election and closed at 7:00 p.m. on the
same day except as provided for central absentee voter precincts pursuant to
subsection F G
of § 24.2-712.
At 6:45 p.m. an officer of election shall announce that the polls will close in fifteen minutes. The officers of election shall list the names of all qualified voters in line before the polling place at 7:00 p.m. and permit those voters and no others to vote after 7:00 p.m.
§ 24.2-667.1. Reporting of results; absentee votes.
The general registrar shall report to the Department of Elections the number and results of absentee ballots cast early in person pursuant to § 24.2-701.1 separately from the number and results of all other absentee ballots.
§ 24.2-709.1. Processing returned absentee ballots before election day.
Each general registrar shall take one or more of the
following measures as needed to
expedite counting absentee ballots returned by mail before election day: (i) A. On
receipt of an absentee ballot returned in person or by mail to the office of
the general registrar before election day, the general registrar shall mark the date of receipt and that the voter has voted in
the voter's record and shall examine the
ballot envelopes envelope to
verify completion of the required voter affirmation; (ii) mark the pollbook, or the absentee voter applicant list
if the pollbook is not available, that the voter has voted; or (iii). A voter affirmation statement shall not be deemed to
be incomplete on the sole basis of the voter's failure to provide (i) his
full name or his middle initial, as long as the voter provided his full first
and last name, or (ii) the date, or any part of
the date, including the year, on which he signed the statement.
B. If the voter
affirmation has been completed as required, the general registrar may
open the sealed ballot envelopes envelope and
insert the ballots ballot in
optical scan counting equipment or other secure ballot container without
initiating any ballot count totals. If the general registrar
proceeds to open sealed ballot envelopes as provided in clause (iii), at If a general registrar
does not choose to do so, the sealed ballot envelopes shall be deposited into a
secure container provided for such purpose, in which they shall remain until
the day of the election when the container is delivered to a central absentee
voter precinct.
Beginning on the seventh day immediately preceding the election, each general registrar shall open the sealed ballot envelopes of absentee ballots returned and preprocessed in accordance with subsection A and insert the ballots into optical scan counting equipment or other secure ballot container without initiating any ballot count totals.
At
least two officers of election, one representing each political party, shall be
present during all hours when a general registrar uses
the expedited procedures opens sealed ballot
envelopes as authorized in or required by
this
section subsection. No person present
while sealed ballot envelopes are opened and ballots are inserted into counting
equipment or other secure ballot container pursuant to clause (iii)
shall disclose any information concerning the ballots.
§ 24.2-710. Absentee voter applicant lists.
On receipt of an absentee
ballot, the electoral board or general registrar shall mark the date of receipt
in the appropriate column opposite the name and address of the voter on the
absentee voter applicant list maintained in the general registrar's office. A
board member or registrar shall deposit the return envelope and the unopened
ballot envelope in an appropriate container provided for the purpose, in which
they shall remain until the day of the election, unless the registrar opts to
open sealed ballot envelopes in order to expedite the counting of absentee
ballots in accordance with § 24.2-709.1.
A. The provisions of this subdivision shall apply only to those localities not using an electronic pollbook. On the day before the election, the general registrar shall (i) make out in triplicate on a form prescribed by the State Board the absentee voter applicant list containing the names of all persons who applied for an absentee ballot through the third day before the election and (ii) by noon on the day before the election, deliver two copies of the list to the electoral board. The general registrar shall make out a supplementary list containing the names of all persons voting absentee in person or applying to vote absentee pursuant to § 24.2-705 for delivery by 5:00 p.m. on the day before the election. The supplementary list shall be deemed part of the absentee voter applicant list and shall be prepared and delivered in accordance with the instructions of the State Board. The general registrar shall maintain one copy of the list in his office for two years as a public record open for inspection upon request during regular office hours.
B. On the day before the election, the electoral board shall deliver one copy of the list provided to it by the general registrar to the chief officer of election for each precinct. The list shall be attested by the secretary of the electoral board who shall be responsible for the delivery of the attested lists to the chief officer of election for each precinct.
Absentee ballots shall be accepted only from voters whose names appear on the attested list.
Before the polls close on
the day of the election, the electoral board shall deliver the absentee ballot
containers to, and obtain a receipt from, the officers of election at each
appropriate precinct. Any ballot returned to the electoral board or general
registrar prior to the closing of the polls, but after the ballot container has
been delivered, shall be delivered in an appropriate container to the officers
of election at each appropriate precinct. The containers shall be sealed prior
to delivery to the officers and shall contain the sealed absentee ballots, the
accompanying return envelopes, and a copy of the absentee voter applicant list
for each precinct.
If the county or city uses
a central absentee voter precinct pursuant to § 24.2-712, the lists and containers
shall be delivered, as provided in this section, to the officers of election
for the absentee precinct.
Before noon on the day
following the election, the general registrar shall deliver all applications
for absentee ballots for the election, under seal, to the clerk of the circuit
court for the county or city, except that the general registrar may retain all
applications for absentee ballots until the electoral board has ascertained the
results of the election pursuant to § 24.2-671, and has determined the validity
of and counted all provisional ballots pursuant to § 24.2-653.01, at which
point all applications shall then be delivered, under seal, to the clerk of the
circuit court for the county or city. The clerk shall retain the sealed applications
with the counted ballots.
The secretary of the
electoral board shall deliver all absentee ballots received after the election
to the clerk of the circuit court.
C. Upon
request, the State Board shall provide an electronic copy of the absentee voter
applicant list to any political party or candidate. Such lists shall be used
only for campaign and political purposes. In no event shall any list furnished
under this section contain (a) (i) any voter's social
security number or any part thereof, (b) (ii) any voter's day and month
of birth, or (c) (iii)
the residence address of any voter who has provided a post office box address
to be used on public lists pursuant to § 24.2-418.
§ 24.2-711. Duties of electoral board, general registrar, and officers of election.
A. Before the polls open, the officers of election at each precinct shall mark, for each person on the absentee voter applicant list, the letters "AB" (meaning absentee ballot) in the voting record column on the pollbook. The pollbook may be so marked prior to election day by the general registrar, the secretary of the electoral board, or staff under the direction of the general registrar or the secretary, or when the pollbook is produced by the State Board pursuant to § 24.2-404. If the pollbook has been marked prior to election day, before the polls open the officers of election at each precinct shall check the marks for accuracy and make any additions or corrections required.
The chief officer of election shall keep the copy of the absentee voter applicant list in the polling place as a public record open for inspection upon request at all times while the polls are open.
If a voter, whose name
appears on the absentee voter applicant list, has not returned an unused ballot
and offers to vote in his precinct, the officers of election in the precinct
shall determine the matter pursuant to §§ 24.2-653.1 and 24.2-708.
Immediately after the
close of the polls, the container of absentee ballots shall be opened by the
officers of election. As each ballot envelope is removed from the container,
the name of the voter shall be called and checked as if the voter were voting
in person. If the voter is found entitled to vote, an officer shall mark the
voter's name on the pollbook with the first or next consecutive number from the
voter count form, or shall enter that the voter has voted if the pollbook is in
electronic form. The ballot envelope shall then be opened, and the ballot
deposited in the ballot container without being unfolded or examined. If the
voter is found not entitled to vote, the unopened envelope shall be rejected.
An unopened envelope shall not be rejected on the sole basis of a voter's
failure to provide in the statement on the back of the unopened envelope his
full middle name or his middle initial, unless the voter also failed to provide
his full first and last name. An unopened envelope shall not be rejected on the
sole basis of a voter's failure to provide the date, or any part of the date,
including the year, on which he signed the statement printed on the back of the
envelope. At least two officers of election, one representing each political
party, shall write and sign a statement of the cause for rejection on the
envelope or on an attachment to the envelope.
When all ballots have been
accounted for and either voted or rejected, the officers shall place the empty
ballot envelopes, the return envelopes, and any rejected ballot envelopes, in
one envelope provided for the purpose and seal and deliver it with the ballots
cast at the election as provided in this title.
B. Before noon on the day following the election, the general registrar shall deliver all applications for absentee ballots for the election, under seal, to the clerk of the circuit court for the county or city, except that the general registrar may retain all applications for absentee ballots until the electoral board has ascertained the results of the election pursuant to § 24.2-671, and has determined the validity of and counted all provisional ballots pursuant to § 24.2-653.01, at which point all applications shall then be delivered, under seal, to the clerk of the circuit court for the county or city. The clerk shall retain the sealed applications with the counted ballots.
C. The secretary of the electoral board shall deliver all absentee ballots received after the election to the clerk of the circuit court.
§ 24.2-712. Central absentee voter precincts; counting ballots.
A. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the governing body of each county or city may shall
establish one or more central absentee voter precincts in the courthouse or
other public buildings for the purpose of receiving,
counting, and recording absentee ballots cast in the county or city. The
decision to establish any absentee voter precinct shall be made by the
governing body by ordinance; the ordinance shall
state for which elections the precinct shall be used. The decision to abolish
any absentee voter precinct shall be made by the governing body by ordinance.
Immediate notification of either decision shall be sent to the Department of Elections and the electoral
board.
B. Each central absentee voter precinct shall have at least three officers of election as provided for other precincts. The number of officers shall be determined by the electoral board and general registrar.
C. If any voter brings an unmarked ballot to the central
absentee voter precinct on the day of the election, he shall be allowed to vote
it. If any voter brings an unmarked ballot to the general registrar on or
before the day of the election, he shall be allowed to vote it, and his ballot
shall be delivered to the absentee voter precinct
pursuant to § 24.2-710.
The officers at the
absentee voter precinct shall determine any appeal by any other voter whose
name appears on the absentee voter applicant list and who offers to vote in
person. If the officers at the absentee voter precinct produce records showing
the receipt of his application and the certificate or other evidence of mailing
for the ballot, they shall deny his appeal. If the officers cannot produce such
records, the voter shall be allowed to vote in person at the absentee voter
precinct and have his vote counted with other absentee votes. If the voter's
appeal is denied, the provisions of § 24.2-708 shall be applicable, and the
officers shall advise the voter that he may vote on presentation of a statement
signed by him that he has not received an absentee ballot and subject to felony
penalties for making false statements pursuant to § 24.2-1016.
D. Absentee ballots may shall be processed as required
by § 24.2-711
24.2-709.1 by the officers of election at the central
absentee voter precinct prior to the closing of the polls. In the case of
machine-readable ballots, the ballot container may shall be opened and the
absentee ballots may shall be inserted in the
counting machines prior to the closing of the polls in accordance with
procedures prescribed by the Department of Elections, including procedures to
preserve ballot secrecy, but no ballot count totals by the machines shall be initiated prior to transmitted outside of the central absentee voter
precinct until after the closing of the polls.
In the case of absentee ballots that are counted by hand, the
officers of election may shall begin tallying such
ballots at any time after 3:00 p.m. on the day of the election in accordance
with the procedures prescribed by the Department of Elections, including
procedures to preserve ballot secrecy. No counts of such tallies shall be
determined or transmitted outside of the central absentee voter precinct until
after the closing of the polls.
The use of cellular telephones or other communication devices shall be prohibited in the central absentee voter precinct during such processing and tallying and until the closing of the polls. Any person present in the central absentee voter precinct shall sign a statement under oath that he will not transmit any counts prior to the closing of the polls. Any person who transmits any counts in violation of this section is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
E. As soon as the polls are closed in the county or city, the officers of election at the central absentee voter precinct shall proceed promptly to ascertain and record the total vote given by all absentee ballots and report the results in the manner provided for counting and reporting ballots generally in Article 4 (§ 24.2-643 et seq.) of Chapter 6.
E. F. The electoral board or
general registrar may provide that the officers of election for a central
absentee voter precinct may be assigned to work all or a portion of the time
that the precinct is open on election day subject to the following conditions:
1. The chief officer and the assistant chief officer, appointed pursuant to § 24.2-115 to represent the two political parties, are on duty at all times; and
2. No officer, political party representative, or other candidate representative shall leave the precinct after any ballots have been counted until the polls are closed and the count for the precinct is completed and reported.
F. G. The general registrar may
provide that the central absentee voter precinct will open after 6:00 a.m. on
the day of the election provided that the office of the general registrar will
be open for the receipt of absentee ballots until the central absentee voter
precinct is open and that the officers of election for the central absentee
voter precinct obtain the absentee ballots returned to the general registrar's
office for the purpose of counting the absentee ballots at the central absentee
voter precinct and provided further that the central absentee voter precinct is
the same location as the office of the general registrar.