SB 491 — Extending effective date for voter registration in conjunction with driver licensing

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Red = new code to be enacted WEST virginia legislature regular session Enrolled Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 491 Senators Trump and Palumbo, original sponsors [Passed[Originating Marchin 6,the 2019;Committee on the Judiciary;

inReported effecton fromFebruary passage]7, 2019]     ANA ACTBILL to amend and reenact §3‑2‑11 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating generally to automatic voting registration through the Division of Motor Vehicles;

requiring the Division of Motor Vehicles to develop a regular process by January 1, 2020, that allows the Secretary of State to fulfill his or her duties as provided by §3-2-3 of this code to confirm thatand personsmaintain whoa arerecord noncitizens of thean Unitedapplicant’s Statescitizenship havestatus; not and cannot register to vote via the Online Voter Registration portal;

requiring the Division of Motor Vehicles to provide notice to the Secretary of State and the appropriate county clerk if voting registration information related to a noncitizen is released to the Secretary of State in error;

requiring the Division of Motor Vehicles and the Secretary of State to cooperate to develop a process by January 1, 2020, to compare all information regarding a person’s citizenship status available to the Division of Motor Vehicles with voter information released to the Secretary of State in order to detect and cancel voting registration by noncitizens;

and requiring the Division of Motor Vehicles, the Department of Transportation, and the Secretary of State to file certain reports with,with and appear before,before the Joint Committee on Government and Finance and the Joint Standing Committee on the Judiciary during the first interim meetings occurring after September 1, 2019.

including United States citizenship;

(10) (11) Whether the applicant affirmatively declined to become registered to vote during the transaction with the Division of Motor Vehicles;

(11) (12) Date of application;

and (12) (13) Any other information specified in rules adopted to implement this section.

The Division of Motor Vehicles shall notify that the applicant that by submitting his or her signature, the applicant grants written consent for the submission of the information obtained and required to be submitted to the Secretary of State pursuant to this section.

(c) ByConfirmation no later than January 1, 2020, the Division of Motorcitizenship Vehiclesstatus; shall create a regular process that allows the Secretary of State to fulfill his or her duties as provided by §3-2-3 of this code to confirm that persons who are noncitizens of the United States have not and cannot register to vote via the Online Voter Registration portal.

(d)cancellation Informationof regardingnoncitizen a person’s failure to sign the voter registration application is confidential and may not be used for any purpose other than to determine voter registration.

(e)— A(1) qualifiedPrior voterto whoreleasing submits the required information orobtained updatepursuant to hissubsection or(a) herof voterthis registration,section pursuant to the provisionsSecretary of subsectionState, (a)the Division of thisMotor section,Vehicles inshall personconfirm atthat aan driverapplicant licensingis facilitya atcitizen of the timeUnited States and keep a record of applyingthe for,applicant’s obtaining,citizenship renewing,status.  or(2) transferringWithin his24 orhours herof driver’sdiscovering licensethat ora officialnoncitizen’s identificationinformation cardwas andreleased whoto presentsthe identificationSecretary andof proofState for voter registration purposes, the Division of ageMotor atVehicles thatshall timeprovide iswritten notnotice requiredof tothe makeerror hisvia certified mail, or herother firstmethod voteapproved inby personthe orSecretary of State, to againthe presentSecretary identificationof inState orderand tothe makecounty thatclerk registrationof valid.the relevant county.

(f)Such Anotice qualifiedshall voter,include whoall submitsinformation byobtained mailpursuant orto bysubsection delivery(a) byof athis thirdsection, partyas anwell applicationas forthe registrationdate on which the forminformation usedwas inerroneously conjunctionreleased with driver licensing, is required to make his or her first vote in person and present identification as required for other mail registration in accordance with the provisionsSecretary of §3‑2‑10(g)State. of this code.

(3) No later than January 1, 2020, the Division of Motor Vehicles and the Secretary of State shall cooperate to develop and implement a process to systematically compare all information regarding a person’s citizenship status available to the Division of Motor Vehicles with voter information released to the Secretary of State.

Upon the discovery that a voter registration application was submitted to the Secretary of State by a noncitizen, the Secretary of State shall provide notice to the county clerk of the relevant county within 24 hours and take any other necessary steps to cancel the noncitizen’s voter registration.

 (c) (d) Information regarding a person’s failure to sign the voter registration application is confidential and may not be used for any purpose other than to determine voter registration.

(d) (e) A qualified voter who submits the required information or update to his or her voter registration, pursuant to the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, in person at a driver licensing facility at the time of applying for, obtaining, renewing, or transferring his or her driver’s license or official identification card and who presents identification and proof of age at that time is not required to make his or her first vote in person or to again present identification in order to make that registration valid.

(e) (f) A qualified voter, who submits by mail or by delivery by a third party an application for registration on the form used in conjunction with driver licensing, is required to make his or her first vote in person and present identification as required for other mail registration in accordance with the provisions of §3‑2‑10(g) of this code.

(f) (g) An application for voter registration submitted pursuant to the provisions of this section updates a previous voter registration by the applicant and authorizes the cancellation of registration in any other county or state in which the applicant was previously registered.

(g) (h) A change of address from one residence to another within the same county which is submitted for driver licensing or nonoperator’s identification purposes in accordance with applicable law serves as a notice of change of address for voter registration purposes if requested by the applicant after notice and written consent of the applicant.

(h) (i) Completed applications for voter registration or change of address for voting purposes received by an office providing driver licensing services shall be forwarded to the Secretary of State within five days of receipt unless other means are available for a more expedited transmission.

(i) (j) Voter registration application forms containing voter information which are returned to a driver licensing office unsigned shall be collected by the Division of Motor Vehicles, submitted to the Secretary of State, and maintained by the Secretary of State’s office according to the retention policy adopted by the Secretary of State.

(j) (k) The Secretary of State shall establish procedures to protect the confidentiality of the information obtained from the Division of Motor Vehicles, including any information otherwise required to be confidential by other provisions of this code.

(k) (l) A person registered to vote pursuant to this section may cancel his or her voter registration at any time by any method available to any other registered voter.

(l) (m) This section shall not be construed as requiring does not require the Division of Motor Vehicles to determine eligibility for voter registration and voting.

(m) (n) ExceptThe for the changes made to subsection (b) of this section during the 2017 regular legislative session, the changes made to this section during the 2016 regularRegular legislativeLegislative sessionSession shall become effective on July 1, 2021,2019, and any costs associated therewith shall be paid by the Division of Motor Vehicles.

If the Division of Motor Vehicles is unable to meet the requirements of this section by February 1, 2019, it shall make a presentation to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance explaining any resources necessary to meet the requirements or any changes to the code that it recommends immediately prior to the 2019 Regular Legislative Session:

Provided, That the Division of Motor Vehicles shall report to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance by January 1, 2018 with a full and complete list of all infrastructure they require to achieve the purposes of this section.

Except for the changes made to subsection (b) of this section during the 2017 regular legislative session, the changes made to this section during the 2016 regular legislative session become effective on July 1, 2021, and any costs associated therewith shall be paid by the Division of Motor Vehicles.

Along with the report required by this subsection, the Division of Motor Vehicles shall submit a written schedule to both committees outlining how the divisionDivision will implement the requirements of this section by July 1, 2021.

(n) (o) The Secretary of State shall propose rules for legislative approval in accordance with the provisions of §29A‑3‑1 et seq.

of this code in order to implement the requirements of this section.

  NOTE:

The purpose of this bill is to extend the effective date for voter registration in conjunction with driver licensing until July 1, 2021 and to require the DMV to confirm citizenship of all applicants.

Strike‑throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.