16101556D
HOUSE BILL NO. 1033
Offered January 13, 2016
Prefiled January 13, 2016
A BILL to amend and reenact §§24.2-705 and 24.2-710 of the
Code of Virginia and to repeal §§24.2-705.1 and 24.2-705.2 of the Code of
Virginia, relating to absentee voting; emergency voting.
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Patron-- Sickles
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Committee Referral Pending
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Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §§24.2-705 and 24.2-710 of the Code of Virginia are
amended and reenacted as follows:
§24.2-705. Emergency applications and absentee ballots for
individual emergencies.
A. Any
person registered and otherwise qualified to vote who
becomes incapacitated on or after the seventh day preceding an election
may request at any time prior to 2:00 p.m. on the day preceding the election
that an he be permitted to vote by
emergency absentee ballot application be
delivered to him with the assistance of
his designated representative. A
voter who becomes hospitalized on or after the fourteenth day preceding the
election and who is unable, because of his condition, to request an absentee
ballot earlier than the seventh day preceding the election may request at any
time prior to 2:00 p.m. on the day before an election that an emergency
absentee ballot be delivered to him in the hospital. For purposes of this
section, "incapacitated" means hospitalized, ill and confined to his
residence, bereaved by the death of a spouse, child, or parent, or otherwise
incapacitated by an emergency which is found by the general registrar to
justify providing an emergency ballot application; and "hospital"
means a hospital as defined in §32.1-123 or 37.2-100 and any comparable
hospital in the District of Columbia or any state contiguous to Virginia The Department of Elections shall prescribe a form
and the instructions for submitting such a request to the general registrar
that shows that the voter requesting an emergency absentee ballot was unable to
apply for an absentee ballot by the deadline due to hospitalization;
illness; death of a spouse,
child, or parent; or other emergency
found to justify receipt of an emergency absentee ballot.
On receipt of the
request, the general registrar shall provide an emergency absentee ballot
application to the incapacitated voter's designated representative who shall
deliver the application to the voter. If the voter is hospitalized, the
delivery shall be made to him at the hospital; and if the voter is otherwise
incapacitated, the delivery shall be made to him at his current residence
address as shown on the registration records. The voter's designated
representative shall be age eighteen 18 or older and shall not be
an elected official, a candidate for elected office, or the deputy, spouse,
parent, or child of an elected official or candidate.
The application shall
be on a form prescribed by the State Board and shall require the applicant (i)
to state the cause of his incapacity, (ii) to state that he is unable to be
present at the polls on election day, and that he was either incapacitated on
or after the seventh day preceding the election or hospitalized on or after the
fourteenth day preceding the election and unable to request the application
earlier than the seventh day preceding the election, (iii) to designate a
representative to receive, deliver and return the ballot, and (iv) to provide
other information required by law for an absentee ballot application.
If the voter is
hospitalized, a hospital administrative official, a licensed physician
attending the applicant, or provider as defined in §37.2-403, shall certify on
the form to the hospitalization of the applicant and the applicant's inability
to be present at the polls on election day. If the voter is ill and confined to
his residence, a licensed physician, provider as defined in §37.2-403, or an
accredited religious practitioner attending the applicant shall certify on the
form to the incapacity of the applicant and the applicant's inability to be
present at the polls on election day. If the voter is bereaved, a licensed
physician, an accredited religious practitioner, or a funeral service licensee
(as defined in §54.1-2800) shall certify on the form to the incapacity of the
applicant and the applicant's inability to be present at the polls on election
day. If the voter is otherwise incapacitated as determined by the general
registrar, the general registrar shall certify on the form to the incapacity of
the applicant and the applicant's inability to be present at the polls on
election day. The applicant requesting voter shall sign
the application form and state, subject to
felony penalties for making false statements pursuant to §24.2-1016, that to
the best of his knowledge and belief the facts contained in the application form are true and correct. His
signature shall be witnessed by the designated representative who shall sign
and return the completed application to the office of the general registrar no
later than 5:00 p.m. on the day preceding the election. For
the purposes of this section, "accredited religious practitioner"
means a person who has been trained in spiritual healing or the other healing
arts and has been so accredited by a formal religious order If the requesting voter is blind or physically
unable to sign the form, his designated representative shall write on the
signature line that the voter is blind or unable to sign the form.
On receipt of the completed
application form
and a determination of the qualification of the
applicant requesting voter
to vote, the general registrar shall provide, in accordance with the applicable
provisions of this chapter, an absentee ballot to the designated representative
for delivery to the incapacitated requesting voter.
The incapacitated requesting voter shall vote
the absentee ballot as provided by law and mark it in the presence of the
designated representative. The representative shall complete a statement,
subject to felony penalties for making false statements pursuant to §
24.2-1016, that (i) he is the representative of the
incapacitated requesting
voter; (ii) he personally delivered the ballot to the voter who applied for it;
(iii) in his presence, the voter marked the ballot, the ballot was placed in
the envelope provided, the envelope was sealed, and the statement on its
reverse side was signed by the incapacitated requesting voter; and (iv) the
ballot was returned, under seal, to the general registrar at the registrar's
office.
The ballot shall be counted only if the ballot is received by
the general registrar prior to the close of polls, and the general registrar
shall deliver the ballot to the officers of election at each appropriate
precinct pursuant to §24.2-710.
B. A qualified voter
may vote absentee in person in the office of the general registrar through 2:00
p.m. on the day preceding the election by complying with the requirements of §
24.2-643 and affirming that one of the following emergency circumstances will
prevent him from voting on election day:
1. After 12:00 p.m. on
the Saturday before the election, an obligation arose that requires the voter
be absent from his county or city on election day due
to (i) his business, profession, or occupation; (ii)
the hospitalization of the voter or a member of his immediate family; or (iii)
the death of a member of his immediate family. For purposes of this
subdivision, "immediate family" means the children, including adopted
children, grandchildren, parents, grandparents, legal guardians, siblings, and
spouse of the voter; or
2. The voter is an
officer of election assigned after 12:00 p.m. on the Saturday before the
election to work in a precinct other than his own on election day.
C. The Commissioner of
Elections may act administratively to facilitate voting by qualified voters who
are emergency workers or utility workers or who
otherwise respond to and offer assistance to an area in which a state of
emergency has been declared. These administrative actions may include central
issuance and receipt of absentee ballots for federal and state elections using
the systems and procedures developed for uniformed-service voters.
§24.2-710. Further duties of electoral board and general
registrar; absentee voter applicant lists.
On receipt of an absentee ballot, the electoral board or
general registrar shall mark the date of receipt in the appropriate column
opposite the name and address of the voter on the absentee voter applicant list
maintained in the general registrar's office. A board member or registrar shall
deposit the return envelope and the unopened ballot envelope in an appropriate
container provided for the purpose, in which they shall remain until the day of
the election.
On the day before the election, the general registrar shall
(i) make out in triplicate on a form prescribed by the State Board the absentee
voter applicant list containing the names of all persons who applied for an
absentee ballot through the third day before the election and (ii) by noon on
the day before the election, deliver two copies of the list to the electoral
board. The general registrar shall make out a supplementary list containing the
names of all persons voting absentee in person
pursuant to §§24.2-705.1 and 24.2-705.2, or applying to
vote absentee pursuant to §24.2-705,
for delivery by 5:00 p.m. on the day before the election. The supplementary
list shall be deemed part of the absentee voter applicant list and shall be
prepared and delivered in accordance with the instructions of the State Board.
The general registrar shall maintain one copy of the list in his office for two
years as a public record open for inspection upon request during regular office
hours.
On the day before the election, the electoral board shall
deliver one copy of the list provided to it by the general registrar to the
chief officer of election for each precinct. The list shall be attested by the
secretary of the electoral board who shall be responsible for the delivery of
the attested lists to the chief officer of election for each precinct.
Absentee ballots shall be accepted only from voters whose
names appear on the attested list.
Before the polls close on the day of the election, the
electoral board shall deliver the absentee ballot containers to, and obtain a
receipt from, the officers of election at each appropriate precinct. Any ballot
returned to the electoral board or general registrar prior to the closing of
the polls, but after the ballot container has been delivered, shall be
delivered in an appropriate container to the officers of election at each
appropriate precinct. The containers shall be sealed prior to delivery to the
officers and shall contain the sealed absentee ballots, the accompanying return
envelopes, and a copy of the absentee voter applicant list for each precinct.
If the county or city uses a central absentee voter precinct
pursuant to §24.2-712, the lists and containers shall be delivered, as
provided in this section, to the officers of election for the absentee
precinct.
Before noon on the day following the election, the general
registrar shall deliver all applications for absentee ballots for the election,
under seal, to the clerk of the circuit court for the county or city, except
that the general registrar may retain all applications for absentee ballots
until the electoral board has ascertained the results of the election pursuant
to §24.2-671, and has determined the validity of and counted all provisional
ballots pursuant to §24.2-653, at which point all applications shall then be
delivered, under seal, to the clerk of the circuit court for the county or
city. The clerk shall retain the sealed applications with the counted ballots.
The secretary of the electoral board shall deliver all
absentee ballots received after the election to the clerk of the circuit court.
Upon request, the State Board shall provide an electronic copy
of the absentee voter applicant list to any political party or candidate. Such
lists shall be used only for campaign and political purposes. In no event shall
any list furnished under this section contain (i) any voter's social security
number or any part thereof, (ii) any voter's day and month of birth, or (iii)
the residence address of any voter who has provided a post office box address
to be used on public lists pursuant to §24.2-418.
2. That §§24.2-705.1 and 24.2-705.2 of the Code of Virginia
are repealed.
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