Gubernatorial Race 2013 - Forgot to Update county residence; Same State.
October 29, 2013 8:07 AM Subscribe
I moved from Fairfax County (VA) to Arlington County (VA) and I've been dragging my feet with updating my voter registration card. Just now, I updated it online but it seems that it will be too late to process. My DMV license is updated to reflect my new residence in Arlington. Can I vote here in Arlington for the 2013 VA Gubernatorial Race? What are my options?
It all depends on where you're registered to vote. If your voter registration is at your old address, you'll need to vote at your old precinct.
posted by Benny Andajetz at 8:29 AM on October 29, 2013
posted by Benny Andajetz at 8:29 AM on October 29, 2013
Sorry, missed that you updated your voter registration - I thought you meant your license. As a Virginia poll official, I don't know how this will shake out at this late date. But, if you go to the wrong poll first, DO NOT vote a provisional ballot there instead of going to the right poll. Provisional ballots, for all intents and purposes, don't get counted in time to make a difference.
posted by Benny Andajetz at 8:37 AM on October 29, 2013
posted by Benny Andajetz at 8:37 AM on October 29, 2013
Hi. I worked "voter protection" in Virginia (for a partisan candidate) during the 2012 election.
As I understand it, the key is how long ago you moved, and how far you moved. It sounds like you moved to a different county and didn't just move within your precinct. (The rules are different for within-precinct moves.)
If you moved outside your precinct within the past year (that is, before November 2012), I believe you can vote in the precinct where you were registered and would have been qualified to vote if not for the move. See generally, VA Code ยง 24.2-401.
It is unclear to me what effect updating your registration on the system has. Note that the Code says you can vote, "unless his registration has been transferred or cancelled as provided in this chapter". Currently, the SBE website says that "new submissions will be processed after the elections". Assuming that's what it said when you submitted your new info, I think it's very likely that your name will appear in the poll book in your old precinct.
Here's a link to the 2012 Fairfax County Election Officer guide (sorry, I can't find Arlington or if there's a more current guide). The "What Ifs" are straight from the State Board of Elections, and the chart on Page 5 of the "What Ifs" (page 54 of the PDF) is directly on-point for you. See also questions 5 and 6 on the next pages.
Also, it may be helpful for you to understand that when the SBE talks about presenting a "current" ID -- which, under Virginia law, includes a utility bill showing your name and address -- "current" for purposes of the utility bill does not mean that it has to be from the "current" month. Page 2 of the "What Ifs" specify that "current" means, "the document contains a name and address that matches the information within the pollbook".
Assuming you moved within the past year, and you are able to present a utility bill showing your name and old address, that should be sufficient to let you vote. (Although anecdotally, I heard that a lot of these rules were inconsistently applied throughout Virginia last year.)
You could probably call the SBE or one of the voter protection hotlines to talk through this all with your specifics; my experience in 2012, though, was that information on the SBE website matched up with the information in the poll book system.
Also, please don't regard what I'm saying here as definitive. I'm not working voter protection this election cycle and all of my experience (and the docs I'm citing) are from last year. I don't think the laws have changed any, but YMMV. Call the hotline to be sure.
posted by QuantumMeruit at 10:53 AM on October 29, 2013
As I understand it, the key is how long ago you moved, and how far you moved. It sounds like you moved to a different county and didn't just move within your precinct. (The rules are different for within-precinct moves.)
If you moved outside your precinct within the past year (that is, before November 2012), I believe you can vote in the precinct where you were registered and would have been qualified to vote if not for the move. See generally, VA Code ยง 24.2-401.
It is unclear to me what effect updating your registration on the system has. Note that the Code says you can vote, "unless his registration has been transferred or cancelled as provided in this chapter". Currently, the SBE website says that "new submissions will be processed after the elections". Assuming that's what it said when you submitted your new info, I think it's very likely that your name will appear in the poll book in your old precinct.
Here's a link to the 2012 Fairfax County Election Officer guide (sorry, I can't find Arlington or if there's a more current guide). The "What Ifs" are straight from the State Board of Elections, and the chart on Page 5 of the "What Ifs" (page 54 of the PDF) is directly on-point for you. See also questions 5 and 6 on the next pages.
Also, it may be helpful for you to understand that when the SBE talks about presenting a "current" ID -- which, under Virginia law, includes a utility bill showing your name and address -- "current" for purposes of the utility bill does not mean that it has to be from the "current" month. Page 2 of the "What Ifs" specify that "current" means, "the document contains a name and address that matches the information within the pollbook".
Assuming you moved within the past year, and you are able to present a utility bill showing your name and old address, that should be sufficient to let you vote. (Although anecdotally, I heard that a lot of these rules were inconsistently applied throughout Virginia last year.)
You could probably call the SBE or one of the voter protection hotlines to talk through this all with your specifics; my experience in 2012, though, was that information on the SBE website matched up with the information in the poll book system.
Also, please don't regard what I'm saying here as definitive. I'm not working voter protection this election cycle and all of my experience (and the docs I'm citing) are from last year. I don't think the laws have changed any, but YMMV. Call the hotline to be sure.
posted by QuantumMeruit at 10:53 AM on October 29, 2013
Taking a utility bill is an excellent idea; bills from both addresses would be ideal. But the address in the pollbook is what ultimately determines where you have to vote.
posted by Benny Andajetz at 12:03 PM on October 29, 2013
posted by Benny Andajetz at 12:03 PM on October 29, 2013
Assuming OP moved within the past year, since the OP changed her driver's license, she can't use her changed driver's license as "current ID" if she is on the pollbook in her old precinct, since the address on the ID presented needs to match the address in the pollbook.
A utility bill with OP's name, matching the address in the pollbook, qualifies as "current ID" under Virginia law, at least as far as I understand it.
If showing up at the old precinct, ID or utility bills showing the new address are, IMO, irrelevant.
If showing up at the new precinct, if the OP is still registered at her old address (and provided that she moved within the past year), she would be sent to her old precinct, and I believe that a provisional ballot cast at the new precinct wouldn't be counted. ID (including utility bills) showing the new address in this scenario is likewise irrelevant IMO.
My own gut feeling is that in the last election in Virginia, and this year, showing up at a polling place where your name doesn't appear in the pollbook is a waste of time (unless the SBE folks specifically tell you to do so; I saw them make notations in the system for a voter under some fairly unique circumstances last year). Absent SBE intervention based on registration lapses not at issue here, I think that at best, if you show up in the "wrong" precinct you might be allowed to vote a provisional ballot but the odds of that provisional ballot being counted are pretty darned low. All IMO.
posted by QuantumMeruit at 12:26 PM on October 29, 2013
A utility bill with OP's name, matching the address in the pollbook, qualifies as "current ID" under Virginia law, at least as far as I understand it.
If showing up at the old precinct, ID or utility bills showing the new address are, IMO, irrelevant.
If showing up at the new precinct, if the OP is still registered at her old address (and provided that she moved within the past year), she would be sent to her old precinct, and I believe that a provisional ballot cast at the new precinct wouldn't be counted. ID (including utility bills) showing the new address in this scenario is likewise irrelevant IMO.
My own gut feeling is that in the last election in Virginia, and this year, showing up at a polling place where your name doesn't appear in the pollbook is a waste of time (unless the SBE folks specifically tell you to do so; I saw them make notations in the system for a voter under some fairly unique circumstances last year). Absent SBE intervention based on registration lapses not at issue here, I think that at best, if you show up in the "wrong" precinct you might be allowed to vote a provisional ballot but the odds of that provisional ballot being counted are pretty darned low. All IMO.
posted by QuantumMeruit at 12:26 PM on October 29, 2013
Contact info for Arlington:
703-228-3456
voters@arlingtonva.us
http://vote.arlingtonva.us
posted by djb at 7:26 PM on October 29, 2013
703-228-3456
voters@arlingtonva.us
http://vote.arlingtonva.us
posted by djb at 7:26 PM on October 29, 2013
This PDF is the official guidance from the State Board of Elections that governs your situation.
If you moved after November 6, 2012, you are eligible to vote in your old Fairfax County precinct. Go to Fairfax County and cast a ballot, either absentee in person or on Election Day. You will not be in the Arlington County pollbook. Attempting to vote in Arlington will be a waste of your time. Voter registration records are closed 21 days before an election and any changes submitted during that time are processed after Election Day.
If you moved before November 6, 2012, you are not eligible to vote in this year's election in either jurisdiction.
Assuming OP moved within the past year, since the OP changed her driver's license, she can't use her changed driver's license as "current ID" if she is on the pollbook in her old precinct, since the address on the ID presented needs to match the address in the pollbook.
This is 100% incorrect. There is no provision in the state code that requires an identification card that provides a matching address. In fact, many of the allowed forms of identification do not have addresses printed at all, per 24.2-643(B).
Verification of address is still done verbally.
Provisional ballots, for all intents and purposes, don't get counted in time to make a difference.
This is a strange interpretation of math, especially from someone that claims to be a pollworker. If you had said that to a voter on Election Day in a polling place a comment like that would result in immediate summoning of lawyers.
In all cases that a voter asserts their eligibility to vote they must be given a provisional ballot. If you are convinced that you are in the correct polling place, and no other polling place is the correct one you should go to, do not leave without casting a provisional ballot.
There are many cases in which a provisional ballot is cast by a perfectly eligible voter, such as but not limited to a lack of ID which can be fixed later, or pollbook error. Those votes are counted.
A ballot counted on Election Night and a provisional ballot counted after Election Night are still worth one (1) vote. They both comprise the same fraction of the total votes cast. There is nothing special about the day a vote is deemed counted so long as it is counted before certification.
Anyway, if you run into trouble...phone 1-866-OUR-VOTE.
posted by Hollywood Upstairs Medical College at 9:44 PM on October 29, 2013
If you moved after November 6, 2012, you are eligible to vote in your old Fairfax County precinct. Go to Fairfax County and cast a ballot, either absentee in person or on Election Day. You will not be in the Arlington County pollbook. Attempting to vote in Arlington will be a waste of your time. Voter registration records are closed 21 days before an election and any changes submitted during that time are processed after Election Day.
If you moved before November 6, 2012, you are not eligible to vote in this year's election in either jurisdiction.
Assuming OP moved within the past year, since the OP changed her driver's license, she can't use her changed driver's license as "current ID" if she is on the pollbook in her old precinct, since the address on the ID presented needs to match the address in the pollbook.
This is 100% incorrect. There is no provision in the state code that requires an identification card that provides a matching address. In fact, many of the allowed forms of identification do not have addresses printed at all, per 24.2-643(B).
Verification of address is still done verbally.
Provisional ballots, for all intents and purposes, don't get counted in time to make a difference.
This is a strange interpretation of math, especially from someone that claims to be a pollworker. If you had said that to a voter on Election Day in a polling place a comment like that would result in immediate summoning of lawyers.
In all cases that a voter asserts their eligibility to vote they must be given a provisional ballot. If you are convinced that you are in the correct polling place, and no other polling place is the correct one you should go to, do not leave without casting a provisional ballot.
There are many cases in which a provisional ballot is cast by a perfectly eligible voter, such as but not limited to a lack of ID which can be fixed later, or pollbook error. Those votes are counted.
A ballot counted on Election Night and a provisional ballot counted after Election Night are still worth one (1) vote. They both comprise the same fraction of the total votes cast. There is nothing special about the day a vote is deemed counted so long as it is counted before certification.
Anyway, if you run into trouble...phone 1-866-OUR-VOTE.
posted by Hollywood Upstairs Medical College at 9:44 PM on October 29, 2013
To clarify my provisional ballot comment:
Election is on Tuesday. Provisional ballot is submitted. Voter has until close of business on Friday to submit correct documentation. Provisional ballots are counted after that. Election was most probably called 3 days ago. So the provisional ballot is counted, but for all intents and purposes doesn't count.
posted by Benny Andajetz at 4:43 AM on October 30, 2013
Election is on Tuesday. Provisional ballot is submitted. Voter has until close of business on Friday to submit correct documentation. Provisional ballots are counted after that. Election was most probably called 3 days ago. So the provisional ballot is counted, but for all intents and purposes doesn't count.
posted by Benny Andajetz at 4:43 AM on October 30, 2013
Thanks for the corrections; I confess absolute error regarding my earlier statement about using the new driver's license. (I gave a too-hasty reading of the definition of "current" for other forms of ID.)
Regarding provisional ballots, my understanding of Virginia election law is that a provisional ballot cast in the wrong precinct will not be counted. Submitting correct documentation by the Friday after election only works if you cast the provisional ballot in the "correct" precinct to begin with.
posted by QuantumMeruit at 7:39 AM on October 30, 2013
Regarding provisional ballots, my understanding of Virginia election law is that a provisional ballot cast in the wrong precinct will not be counted. Submitting correct documentation by the Friday after election only works if you cast the provisional ballot in the "correct" precinct to begin with.
posted by QuantumMeruit at 7:39 AM on October 30, 2013
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posted by Etrigan at 8:14 AM on October 29, 2013