52 U.S.C. § 20506 — Voter registration agencies
submitted 33 years ago by Pub. L. 103-31 to r/title-52-VOTING-AND-ELECTIONS · 1,013 words · no verdicts yet
States must designate certain government offices, including all public assistance and disability-services offices, as voter registration agencies, plus others they choose. These agencies must offer voter registration forms and help filling them out, keep their assistance neutral, and protect an applicant's decision to register or not.
(a) Designation.
(1)-(2) Every state* must designate agencies to register voters for federal elections. Every state must designate as voter registration agencies: all state offices that provide public assistance, and all state offices that run state-funded programs mainly serving people with disabilities.
(3) States must also designate other offices as voter registration agencies, in addition to those required above. These extra agencies can include state or local government offices, like public libraries, public schools, city and county clerk offices (including marriage license bureaus), fishing and hunting license offices, government revenue offices, unemployment offices, and other disability-service offices, and federal or nongovernment offices that agree to participate.
(4) Every voter registration agency* must: distribute mail voter registration forms as required by paragraph (6); help applicants fill out registration forms, unless they refuse help; and accept completed registration forms to forward to the state election* official. If a disability-services agency serves someone at their home, it must provide these same services there too.
(5) Anyone who helps with registration at these agencies must not: try to influence an applicant's political preference or party choice; show their own political preference or party loyalty; say or do anything meant to discourage the applicant from registering; or say or do anything suggesting that registering, or not, affects the applicant's services or benefits.
(6) An agency that offers registration alongside other services must, with every application, recertification, renewal, or change-of-address form for those other services: hand out the official mail registration form (with the eligibility statement, attestation, and signature under penalty of perjury) or an equivalent office form, unless the applicant declines registration in writing; provide a form asking "If you are not registered to vote where you live now, would you like to apply to register to vote here today?", plus, for public-assistance agencies, a statement that registering or declining won't change the applicant's assistance; boxes to check for registering or declining (leaving both unchecked counts as declining), with a bold warning saying so; a statement offering help filling out the form, making clear the applicant can decide whether to accept help and can fill it out privately; and a statement telling the applicant how to file a complaint if they believe their registration rights were interfered with, listing the responsible official's name, address, and phone number. The agency must give registration help equal to the help it gives with its own forms, unless the applicant refuses it.
(7) Information about someone declining to register at one of these agencies can't be used for anything except voter registration.
(b) Federal Government and private sector cooperation. All executive branch federal agencies must cooperate with states carrying out subsection (a) as much as practical, and nongovernment groups are encouraged to do the same.
(c) Armed Forces recruitment offices. Each state and the Secretary of Defense must jointly set up procedures for people to register to vote at military recruitment offices. Recruitment offices count as voter registration agencies for all purposes of this chapter.
(d) Transmittal deadline. Normally, a completed registration application accepted at a voter registration agency must be sent to the state election official within 10 days. If it's accepted within 5 days of the state's registration deadline for an election, it must be sent within 5 days instead.
Each State* shall designate agencies for the registration of voters in elections for Federal office*.
Each State shall designate as voter registration agencies—
all offices in the State that provide public assistance; and
all offices in the State that provide State-funded programs primarily engaged in providing services to persons with disabilities.
In addition to voter registration agencies designated under paragraph (2), each State shall designate other offices within the State as voter registration agencies.
Voter registration agencies designated under subparagraph (A) may include—
State or local government offices such as public libraries, public schools, offices of city and county clerks (including marriage license bureaus), fishing and hunting license bureaus, government revenue offices, unemployment compensation offices, and offices not described in paragraph (2)(B) that provide services to persons with disabilities; and
Federal and nongovernmental offices, with the agreement of such offices.
At each voter registration agency*, the following services shall be made available:
Distribution of mail voter registration application forms in accordance with paragraph (6).
Assistance to applicants in completing voter registration application forms, unless the applicant refuses such assistance.
Acceptance of completed voter registration application forms for transmittal to the appropriate State election* official.
If a voter registration agency designated under paragraph (2)(B) provides services to a person with a disability at the person’s home, the agency shall provide the services described in subparagraph (A) at the person’s home.
A person who provides service described in paragraph (4) shall not—
seek to influence an applicant’s political preference or party registration;
display any such political preference or party allegiance;
make any statement to an applicant or take any action the purpose or effect of which is to discourage the applicant from registering to vote; or
make any statement to an applicant or take any action the purpose or effect of which is to lead the applicant to believe that a decision to register or not to register has any bearing on the availability of services or benefits.
A voter registration agency that is an office that provides service or assistance in addition to conducting voter registration shall—
distribute with each application for such service or assistance, and with each recertification, renewal, or change of address form relating to such service or assistance—
the mail voter registration application form described in section 20508(a)(2) of this title, including a statement that—
specifies each eligibility requirement (including citizenship);
contains an attestation that the applicant meets each such requirement; and
requires the signature of the applicant, under penalty of perjury; or
the office’s own form if it is equivalent to the form described in section 20508(a)(2) of this title,
unless the applicant, in writing, declines to register to vote;
provide a form that includes—
the question, “If you are not registered to vote where you live now, would you like to apply to register to vote here today?”;
if the agency provides public assistance, the statement, “Applying to register or declining to register to vote will not affect the amount of assistance that you will be provided by this agency.”;
boxes for the applicant to check to indicate whether the applicant would like to register or declines to register to vote (failure to check either box being deemed to constitute a declination to register for purposes of subparagraph (C)), together with the statement (in close proximity to the boxes and in prominent type), “IF YOU DO NOT CHECK EITHER BOX, YOU WILL BE CONSIDERED TO HAVE DECIDED NOT TO REGISTER TO VOTE AT THIS TIME.”;
the statement, “If you would like help in filling out the voter registration application form, we will help you. The decision whether to seek or accept help is yours. You may fill out the application form in private.”; and
the statement, “If you believe that someone has interfered with your right to register or to decline to register to vote, your right to privacy in deciding whether to register or in applying to register to vote, or your right to choose your own political party or other political preference, you may file a complaint with _____.”, the blank being filled by the name, address, and telephone number of the appropriate official to whom such a complaint should be addressed; and
provide to each applicant who does not decline to register to vote the same degree of assistance with regard to the completion of the registration application form as is provided by the office with regard to the completion of its own forms, unless the applicant refuses such assistance.
No information relating to a declination to register to vote in connection with an application made at an office described in paragraph (6) may be used for any purpose other than voter registration.
All departments, agencies, and other entities of the executive branch of the Federal Government shall, to the greatest extent practicable, cooperate with the States in carrying out subsection (a), and all nongovernmental entities are encouraged to do so.
Each State and the Secretary of Defense shall jointly develop and implement procedures for persons to apply to register to vote at recruitment offices of the Armed Forces of the United States.
A recruitment office of the Armed Forces of the United States shall be considered to be a voter registration agency designated under subsection (a)(2) for all purposes of this chapter.
Subject to paragraph (2), a completed registration application accepted at a voter registration agency shall be transmitted to the appropriate State election official not later than 10 days after the date of acceptance.
If a registration application is accepted within 5 days before the last day for registration to vote in an election, the application shall be transmitted to the appropriate State election official not later than 5 days after the date of acceptance.
Source credit: (Pub. L. 103–31, § 7, May 20, 1993, 107 Stat. 80.)
- 1993Enacted · Pub. L. 103-31 · 107 Stat. 80
A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 103-31 on 1993-05-20.
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