Action | Substantial Compliance for Absentee Ballot Envelope B |
Stage | Proposed |
Comment Period | Ended on 6/21/2013 |
8 comments
I am confused by the proposed changes to 1VAC20-70-20. I cannot determine if the intent is 1) to allow the voter to enclose the marked ballot in an envelope other than the supplied Envelope B as long as the required Statement of Voter is included, or 2) to allow the marked ballot not to to be enclosed in any envelope at all as long as it is accompanied by the required Statement of Voter, or 3) to eliminate the requirement that the Envelope B must be sealed. Further, I do not understand the meaning of "substantial compliance" in Section C.10. I have the following comments:
This is in addition to earlier comments
Omission of the date of the voter's signature is NOT a material omission on an FWAB; therefore, it should not be a material omission on the B Envelope for the absentee voter.
We sign and seal many forms and envelopes during the election process to ensure the intergity of the electoral process. The absentee ballot is no different. If the Envelope B containing the ballot is not sealed, the information provided on the envelope is of no use - we don't know for sure who put the ballot into the envelope.
Best to leave the law as it is.
We sign and seal many forms and envelopes during the election process to ensure the intergity of the electoral process. The absentee ballot is no different. If the Envelope B containing the ballot is not sealed, the information provided on the envelope is of no use - we don't know for sure who put the ballot into the envelope.
Best to leave the law as it is.
My suggested amendments for 1 VAC 20-70-20 are as follows:
The purpose of these standards is to assist election officials in establishing what is, and is not, material in detemining whether a voter is qualified to vote in an election. While completion of Envelope B (statement of voter) does provide information to determine these qualifications, sealing the envelope does not seem to offer anything material in determining that voter's eligibility. W.T. Latham has provided a very clear insight into the issue voters, whether UOCAVA or Domestic, can face with sealing Envelope B. I agree that deleting (B)(9) and adding proposed (C)(10) ar good changes.
The date of the voter's signature (B)(7) also seems unnecessary. Suggest deleting.
The Fairfax County Electoral Board and the Fairfax County Office of Elections strongly support the proposed regulatory changes whcih would establish a "substantial compliance" rule in regard to the Absentee Ballot Envelope B. These changes will help to ensure that no voter is inadvertently disenfranchised.