Help America Vote Act & Central Voter Registration System

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A Newsletter by the City of Saco, Maine	September, 2005	Return to newsletter index

The Federal government in late 2002 implemented HAVA in order to enhance consistency, integrity, accuracy and be free of duplication for all Federal elections throughout the nation. A major technology requirement of HAVA is the development and implementation of a Computerized Statewide Voter Registration List. Another significant technology requirement is for the State to provide at least one handicapped direct recording electronic accessible voting machine (also called DRE) in every polling place. In Saco that would mean we would need 4 of these DRE's. One of the legal requirements that must also be adopted is that any new voter registrants in a municipality, who register to vote by mail, after January 1, 2003, will have to show identification on or before the first time they vote in a federal election, or they will have to vote a challenged ballot. This is an interim step until the implementation of the computerized statewide voter registration list.

Another legal requirement is the addition of certain information on the voter registration application, such as: Are you a citizen of the United States of America? Will you be 18 years of age on or before election day? If you are not a U.S. Citizen or will not be at least 18 years of age by the next election, you are not eligible to register to vote. Your name, date of birth, street or location address, previous registration address, and voter's signature are also required. A Voter ID number (or Unique ID number) will also be required after January 1, 2006. The purpose of the voter ID number is to designate each voter in the computerized statewide voter registration list, once the list has been developed. The voter ID number can be either your Maine Driver's License number, or if you don't have a Maine Driver's License, the last 4 digits of your Social Security Number. If any of this required information is omitted, the registrar must notify the voter that the application is incomplete, and must later reject the application if the information is not provided.

At this time, all municipalities in the State of Maine are receiving computers as part of the Central Voter Registration System (CVR) which is scheduled to be online by January 1, 2006. The CVR's electronic files will be housed in computers at the Division of Elections in Augusta, and will be available to municipal clerks and registrars. Instead of more than 500 municipal lists maintained separately, there will be one statewide list, which each municipality can access, update, and use for its elections. A major part of the CVR project is the collection of current voter registration information from each of Maine's municipalities and the conversion of that information into the format required by the CVR. The CVR will provide the following benefits to election officials: Easy-to-use reporting and online inquiries; Online viewing of voter signatures; Streamlined absentee ballot tracking and petition certification; Verification and query capabilities with other municipalities; Reduction in list maintenance duties through automated notices to voters and messages to other municipalities; and Elimination of most reporting requirements to the State. Because this new system is a requirement of Federal and State law, the Secretary of State will provide all municipalities with the necessary equipment and training to use the CVR. Computers, scanners, bar code readers and printers will be assigned to each municipality for us by the clerk and registrar to access, print, update and maintain their voter lists. The State is currently developing a policy on ownership and use restrictions for this equipment, and will work with each municipality to ensure there is an adequate Internet connection.