Bill Text: VA HB1172 | 2024 | Regular Session | Prefiled
Bill Title: Absentee voting; voter satellite offices, minimum number required.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2024-02-02 - Incorporated by Privileges and Elections [HB1172 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2024-HB1172-Prefiled.html
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §§24.2-701.1 and 24.2-701.2 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:
§24.2-701.1. Absentee voting in person.
A. Absentee voting in person shall be available on the forty-fifth day prior to any election and shall continue until 5:00 p.m. on the Saturday immediately preceding the election. In the case of a special election, excluding for federal offices, if time is insufficient between the issuance of the writ calling for the special election and the date of the special election, absentee voting in person shall be available as soon as possible after the issuance of the writ.
Any registered voter offering to vote absentee in person shall provide his name and his residence address in the county or city in which he is offering to vote. After verifying that the voter is a registered voter of that county or city, the general registrar shall enroll the voter's name and address on the absentee voter applicant list maintained pursuant to §24.2-706.
Except as provided in subsection F, a registered voter voting by absentee ballot in person shall provide one of the forms of identification specified in subsection B of §24.2-643. If he does not show one of the forms of identification specified in subsection B of §24.2-643, he shall be allowed to vote after signing a statement, subject to felony penalties for false statements pursuant to §24.2-1016, that he is the named registered voter he claims to be. A voter who requires assistance in voting by reason of a physical disability or an inability to read or write, and who requests assistance pursuant to §24.2-649, may be assisted in preparation of this statement in accordance with that section. The provisions of §24.2-649 regarding voters who are unable to sign shall be followed when assisting a voter in completing this statement. A voter who does not show one of the forms of identification specified in this subsection or does not sign this statement shall be offered a provisional ballot under the provisions of §24.2-653. The State Board shall provide instructions to the general registrar for the handling and counting of such provisional ballots pursuant to §24.2-653.01 and this section.
B. Absentee voting in person shall be available during regular
business hours. The electoral board of each county and city shall provide for
absentee voting in person in the office of the general registrar or and may
provide for absentee voting in person in a voter satellite office
established pursuant to §24.2-701.2. For purposes of this chapter, such
offices shall be open to the public a minimum of eight hours between the hours
of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on the first and second Saturday immediately
preceding all elections. The electoral board or general registrar may provide
for absentee voting in person in such offices on Sundays. Any applicant who is
in line to cast his ballot when the office of the general registrar or voter
satellite office closes shall be permitted to cast his absentee ballot that
day.
C. The general registrar may provide for the casting of absentee ballots in person pursuant to this section on voting systems. The Department shall prescribe the procedures for use of voting systems. The procedures shall provide for absentee voting in person on voting systems that have been certified and are currently approved by the State Board. The procedures shall be applicable and uniformly applied by the Department to all localities using comparable voting systems.
D. At least two officers of election shall be present during all hours that absentee voting in person is available and shall represent the two major political parties, except in the case of a party primary, when they may represent the party conducting the primary. However, such requirement shall not apply when (i) voting systems that are being used pursuant to subsection C are located in the office of the general registrar or voter satellite office and (ii) the general registrar or a deputy registrar is present.
E. The Department shall include absentee ballots voted in person in its instructions for the preparation, maintenance, and reporting of ballots, pollbooks, records, and returns.
F. This subsection shall apply in the case of any individual who is required by subparagraph (b) of 52 U.S.C. §21083 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to show identification the first time he votes in a federal election in the state. At such election, such individual shall present (i) a current and valid photo identification or (ii) a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that shows the name and address of the voter. Such individual who desires to vote in person but who does not show one of the forms of identification specified in this subsection shall be offered a provisional ballot under the provisions of §24.2-653. The identification requirements of subsection B of § 24.2-643 and subsection A of §24.2-653 shall not apply to such voter at such election. The Department of Elections shall provide instructions to the electoral boards for the handling and counting of such provisional ballots pursuant to §24.2-653.01 and this section.
§24.2-701.2. Absentee voting in person; voter satellite offices.
A. The governing body of any county or city may establish, by ordinance, voter satellite offices to be used in the locality for absentee voting in person. The governing body may establish as many offices as it deems necessary, except that the governing body of a county or city with a population of 50,000 or more shall establish at least one office, which shall be in operation for the duration of the period during which absentee voting in person is available. No change in, including the creation or abolishment of, any voter satellite office shall be enacted within 60 days next preceding any general election. Notice shall be published prior to enactment in a newspaper having general circulation in the locality once a week for two successive weeks.
B. Any voter satellite office shall be in a public building owned or leased by the county, city, or town within the county and may be in a facility that is owned or leased by the Commonwealth and used as a location for Department of Motor Vehicles facilities or as an office of the general registrar. Such location shall be deemed the equivalent of the office of the general registrar for the purposes of completing the application for an absentee ballot in person pursuant to §§24.2-701 and 24.2-706. Any such location shall have adequate facilities for the protection of all elections materials produced in the process of absentee voting in person, the voted and unvoted absentee ballots, and any voting systems in use at the location.
C. Voter satellite offices shall be accessible to qualified voters as required by the provisions of the Virginians with Disabilities Act (§ 51.5-1 et seq.), the Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act (52 U.S.C. §20101 et seq.), and the Americans with Disabilities Act relating to public services (42 U.S.C. §12131 et seq.). The State Board shall provide instructions to the local electoral boards and general registrars to assist the localities in complying with the requirements of the acts.
D. The governing body of each county, city, and town shall provide funds to enable the general registrar to provide adequate facilities at each voter satellite office for the conduct of elections.
E. Not later than 55 days prior to any election, the general registrar shall post notice of all voter satellite office locations in the locality and the dates and hours of operation of each location in the office of the general registrar and on the official website for the county or city. Such notice shall remain in the office of the general registrar and on the official website for the county or city for the duration of the period during which absentee voting in person is available. If the county or city does not have an official website, such notice shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the county or city at least once prior to the election but not later than 55 days prior to such election.
F. If an emergency makes a voter satellite office unusable or inaccessible, the electoral board or the general registrar shall provide an alternative voter satellite office, subject to the approval of the State Board, and shall give notice of the change in the location of the voter satellite office. The general registrar shall provide notice to the voters appropriate to the circumstances of the emergency. For the purposes of this subsection, "emergency" means a rare and unforeseen combination of circumstances, or the resulting state, that calls for immediate action.
G. The provisions of subsection E of §24.2-310 providing certain limited circumstances in which a local electoral board may approve an exception to the prohibition on the distribution of campaign materials inside the prohibited area outside of a polling place shall apply to voter satellite offices and the building in which such offices may be located.
H. A voter satellite office established pursuant to this section shall be deemed to be the equivalent of an office of the general registrar for purposes of completing an application for an absentee ballot in person pursuant to §§24.2-701, 24.2-701.1, and 24.2-706.
