Ms. Coles,

 

I am also emailing this comment on 1VAC20-45-40.

 

The regulation states in Section D:

 

"D. The ballot should not be rendered invalid if on the FWAB any of the following, or combination thereof, exists:

 

1. The applicant has not listed the names specifically in the order of last, first, and middle name;

 

2. The applicant has listed a middle initial or maiden name, instead of the full middle name;

 

3. The applicant has omitted the street identifier, such as the term "road" or "street," when filling in the legal residence;

 

4. The applicant has omitted the county or city of registration if the county or city is clearly identifiable by the residence address information provided;

 

5. The applicant has omitted the zip code;

 

6. The applicant has omitted the date of the signature of the voter;

 

7. The applicant has omitted the address of the witness;

 

8. The applicant has omitted the date of signature of the witness;

 

9. The applicant did not seal the ballot within the security envelope so long as the outside envelope containing the ballot and the voter's declaration/affirmation page arrived sealed; or

 

10. The applicant has submitted a ballot containing offices or issues for which he is not eligible."

 

This regulation does not fulfill the requirements of the statute § 24.2-702.1. Federal write-in absentee ballots, which specifies the following:

 

"B. Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, a federal write-in absentee ballot submitted pursuant to subsection A shall be considered valid for purposes of simultaneously satisfying both an absentee ballot application and a completed absentee ballot, provided that the ballot is received no later than the deadline for the return of absentee ballots as provided in § 24.2-709 for the election in which the voter offers to vote, and the application contains the following information: (i) the voter's signature; however, if the voter is unable to sign, the person assisting the voter will note this fact in the voter signature box; (ii) the voter's printed name; (iii) the county or city in which he is registered and offers to vote; (iv) the residence address at which he is registered to vote; (v) his current military or overseas address; and (vi) the signature of a witness who shall sign the same application."

 

Comment 1: The law states that the federal write-in absentee ballot shall be considered valid provided that the application/ballot contains "(ii) the voter's printed name." The regulation removes from the election registrar the ability to identify the voter's printed name correctly with the voter in the VERIS database, by making two exceptions that go against the statute. The regulations allow exceptions for  "1. The applicant has not listed the names specifically in the order of last, first, and middle name;" and "2. The applicant has listed a middle initial or maiden name, instead of the full middle name." 

Recommendation: The regulation should require the voter name to be presented in a defined order, and the middle name requirement should be specified on the form.

 

Comment 2: The law states that the federal write-in absentee ballot shall be considered valid provided that the application/ballot contains "(iii) the county or city in which he is registered and offers to vote; [and] (iv) the residence address at which he is registered to vote." The regulation removes from the election registrar the ability to identify the voter's address in the VERIS database, by making three exceptions that go against the statute. The regulations allow exceptions for "3. The applicant has omitted the street identifier, such as the term "road" or "street," when filling in the legal residence; 4. The applicant has omitted the county or city of registration if the county or city is clearly identifiable by the residence address information provided; 5. The applicant has omitted the zip code." 

Recommendation: The regulation should require the voter address to include the street identifier such as road or street, the county or city of registration, and the zip code. 

 

Comment 3: The aggregate impact of the ten regulatory exemptions is to create an undue burden on the general registrar - and on the election officers processing Federal Write-in Absentee Ballots -  trying to verify a voter's identity, by denying them the adequate information to perform their task with due diligence and proper care. With all these proposed regulatory exemptions, for example,a Federal write-in Absentee ballot could present names in any order, to 123 Main (no street, no county, no city, no zip code - just maybe somewhere in Virginia), with no dates on either voter or witness signatures. The ballot could come in a regular envelope, not a security envelope and could include votes for wrong races or issues.

 

Signature matching is not conducted for absentee ballots in Virginia so the presence of voter and witness signatures is not verifiable for voter identification.

 

The current regulations remove necessary due diligence and verifiable processes and potentially harm the military or overseas voter whose vote may never be able to be verified and will not therefore be counted. 

 

In sum, Section D of this regulation is unauthorized by the statute and, as a practical matter, fails to achieve the statutory goal of § 24.2-702.1. Federal write-in absentee ballots which defines the validity of Federal write-in absentee ballots.  It should be revised to carefully conform to the dictates of the statute. 

 

Regards,