Understanding the Official List of Registered Voters

1. Understanding the Official List of Registered Voters Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

2. What to Expect? • Election Lists provided by the Voter Registrar • Official List of Registered Voters • Supplemental List • Registration Corrections List • Maintenance of Active vs. Inactive Files • Application File • Certificate File • Appointment File Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

3. Understanding the OLRV Section 18.061 • TEAM is the Official List of Registered Voters in the state. As such, all lists should be pulled from TEAM for use in elections. • The statewide list is required to • contain the name and registration information of each voter registered in the state • Assign a unique identifier (VUID) to each registered voter • Be available to any election official in the state through immediate electronic access • Counties are required to provide on an expedited basis the information necessary to maintain the registration list. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

4. Understanding the OLRV Section 18.061 • Information eligible for suppression must be suppressed under law. • To ensure the list is up to date and accurate, counties should work their tasks. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

5. Understanding the OLRV Section 18.001- “ Original List of Registered Voters” • A list of voters, including Suspense and Active statuses, whose registration will be effective (EDR) on the date of the election. • Must be provided prior to the beginning of early voting • Must be provided to authorities responsible for procuring election supplies – including political subdivisions or territorial units. • If a political subdivision is requesting a list for an election, the request must be delivered early enough to afford the registrar reasonable time to prepare timely lists. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

6. Understanding the OLRV Section 18.001 • The Registered Voters report is not the same as the OLRV. • The OLRV takes into account the EDR of a person. • As a practical matter, the only way to produce an OLRV in TEAM is to first set up an associating election for the list to key off. • The OLRV is the list that should be provided in preparation for an election. NOTE- Be sure to check your OLRV to ensure it is what is anticipated before providing the list to the authority conducting the election. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

7. OLRV Logic • The OLRV will produce all the voters in the district and or districts, assigned to the specific election selected when requesting the OLRV list. • Whether or not a person appears on the list is dependent upon the EDR of the Voter and the Districts assigned to the election • Valid From Date determines what information is displayed- Changes to a voter record, such that their name, address, etc. is modified and has a valid from date>the date of the election should not be shown. The voter is still on the OLRV but the voter’s detail is determined by the Valid From Date Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

8. Questions & Answers Question: A local entity is having an election and has requested a list of voters in their territory, but they are not currently a jurisdiction in TEAM. How should I handle this? Answer: In order to provide the information, the entity should provide the registrar with a map detailing their boundary lines. You will need to establish the district in TEAM and assign all street ranges to the district that are appropriate. You can then run a registered voters list for the local entity or an OLRV as appropriate. NOTE: You are responsible for providing a list of voters within boundary lines; however, public information deadlines do not apply to such a request. We recommend that you work with the entity to provide the list in the timeframe needed. (Sec. 18.006). Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

9. Questions & Answers Question: If I provide the entity with a list of registered voters, do I also need to provide them with an OLRV? Answer: If the entity is conducting an election using that list, then yes. The OLRV is the official list for every election being held within a jurisdiction. A registered voters list may be used as a stop gap measure to help the entity gauge how many people may be eligible to vote in an election, but it should not be used in place of the OLRV. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

10. Questions & Answers Question: What happens if the territory is in multiple counties? Answer: For jurisdictions in which an entity needs an OLRV, but the territory crosses county lines, then each county will need to provide the OLRV for the portion of voters that fall within their county. If the entity has contracted with a county to conduct the election, the OLRV from the other county will still need to be obtained in order to have a complete list of voters. Each county, then, would need to establish the election in order to produce the OLRV for the voters in their county. NOTE: Voting history is not required to be reported for local elections. Each county, then, may choose to append or not to append the history on the back end. (sec. 18.069) Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

11. Questions & Answers Question: The territory provided me a list of people impacted by their establishment. Not all of these are registered voters. How do I handle this? Answer: The voter registrar is responsible for providing an OLRV (current registered voters eligible to vote in the election) for a jurisdiction. This list will only be those voters who are eligible to vote in an election based on the date of the election and the date their registration becomes effective in the county/territory. There is no authority for a voter registrar to enter individuals into the statewide system in order to return a single list back to the entity. Rather, the registrar should only establish the jurisdiction and provide an OLRV for the entity. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

12. Questions & Answers Question: I see a number of different notations on the OLRV. What do they mean? Answer: Different columns appear on the OLRV to convey information about a voter that may impact how a voter is processed during voting. • ID = If “ID” appears under the ID column, then the voter is required to show identification when voting, even when voting by mail. Once the voter has voted or provided proof of identification, the ID notation should no longer appear on the OLRV. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

13. Questions & Answers Question: I see a number of different notations on the OLRV. What do they mean? Answer: Different columns appear on the OLRV to convey information about a voter that may impact how a voter is processed during voting. • S = If “S” appears under the SUSP column, then the voter is on suspense. The voter should complete a Statement of Residence at the time of Voting in an election when voting either via mail or in person. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

14. Questions & Answers Question: I see a number of different notations on the OLRV. What do they mean? Answer: Different columns appear on the OLRV to convey information about a voter that may impact how a voter is processed during voting. • Information in the Voted/Rejected Column– This displays a full list of ballot activity that has occurred during an election (see the record layout appendix for that list) depending on how the person has cast their ballot. If voting history is entered for ballot by mail activity and/ or early voting, then that information will appear on future lists produced. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

15. Questions & Answers Question: When to generate the OLRV? Answer: The OLRV list is the last step when creating an election. All districts and ballot styles (if your county uses ballot styles) must be assigned before requesting the OLRV. Be sure to generate your ballot styles anytime you: • Modify the districts associated to an election • Modify streets/address ranges Failure to generate your ballot styles will result in no information displaying your OLRV under ballot styles. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

16. Understanding a Supplemental List Section 18.002 • A list supplementing each OLRV furnished to the authority responsible for procuring election supplies; containing voters, including Suspense and Active statuses, whose registration will be effective (EDR) on the date of the election but whose names do not appear on the OLRV • In TEAM, this is the same report as the OLRV, but a date is added to the report request. • Voter Registrars should provide supplemental lists to Election Officials at a minimum to use during early voting. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

17. Understanding a Supplemental List Section 18.002 • A supplemental list is produced by entering a date in the ‘from date’ field when running the Official List of Registered Voters. This date should be the date the last list was run. • The supplemental list keys off the status change date, meaning that it will provide any new registration or information on a registration in which the status has changed. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

18. Understanding a Supplemental List Under 18.005(a) (4), the Supplemental List must contain the notation required by Section 15.111 (notation "S”). Thus, any time that the voter registrar changes a voter’s status, such as going from Active to Suspense, that individual would appear on the supplemental list in accordance with 18.005(a)(4) with the “S” notation. Conversely, if you move a voter from Suspense back to Active status, they would appear on the Supplemental list without the notation, again, in accordance with 18.005(a) (4) (The registrar shall delete the notation from the list if the voter's name is deleted from the suspense list). The same, then, would be true of any voter going from a cancelled status to an active status. This individual would show on the Supplemental list of registered voters in accordance with 18.002. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

19. Understanding a Supplemental List • Section 15.111. NOTATION ON LIST OF REGISTERED VOTERS. (a) The registrar shall enter the notation "S", or a similar notation approved by the secretary of state, on the list of registered voters beside each voter's name that also appears on the suspense list. • (b) The registrar shall delete the notation from the list if the voter's name is deleted from the suspense list. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

20. Understanding a Registration Correction & Revised Original List Section 18.003 – Registration Correction List • This list must contain: • The name of each person for whom the information on a list of registered voters (either OLRV or Supplemental Lists) has changed because of cancellation or correction. • An indication that the person’s registration has been cancelled or the corrected registration information. • An additional copy of each list shall be furnished for use early voting. • Note: This report is not available in TEAM. Counties should maintain and provide this information outside of TEAM. This includes 99 clerical corrections for addresses. Section 18.004 – Revised original List • In lieu of supplying an OLRV, Supplemental and Registration Correction lists, a voter registrar may choose to provide a single revised original list. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

21. Understanding a Registration Correction & Revised Original List Some counties use the Revised Original List in combination with the Precinct Early Voting List • 87.121 – Early Voting Roster – Updated Daily by Early Voting Clerk • 87.122 – Precinct Early Voting List. (a) For each election precinct in the territory served by the early voting clerk, the clerk shall prepare a list containing the name, address, and voter registration number of each person registered in the precinct who votes an early voting ballot by personal appearance and to whom an early voting ballot to be voted by mail is sent. (b) If an election precinct is situated in more than one county election precinct, the list must indicate each voter’s county election precinct of residence. (c) The clerk shall enter “early voting voter” beside the name of each person on the precinct list of registered voters whose name appears on the list of early voting voters and shall deliver the precinct list to the presiding judge of the election precinct not later than the day before election day. Note: If using the OLRV as the precinct early voting list, then it is the Early voting clerk’s responsibility to enter all voting history information and ensure it is correctly reflected in the list. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

22. Forms and Contents of List Section 18.005 • Each OLRV and Supplemental List must: • Contain the voter’s name, date of birth and registration number as provided by the statewide computerized voter registration list • Contain the voter’s residence, unless the individual is covered under confidentiality • Be arranged alphabetically by voter name; and • Contain the notation “S” for voters in a Suspense Status. NOTE: If an address is not available, a concise description (parcel address) may be used instead. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

23. Delivery of Lists Section 18.006 • The lists discussed in this section include either: • The OLRV, Supplemental, and Registration Corrections lists, or • The Revised Original list • They should be provided to the appropriate election authorityfor each election in which the list is to be used • before the beginning of early voting by mail • before the beginning of early voting by personal appearance if the lists provided do not contain the names of all voters who will be eligible to vote as of the beginning of early voting by personal appearance • before election day if the lists provided do not contain the names of all voters who will be eligible to vote on election day. This list should be delivered as soon as practicable after processing the remaining applications. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

24. Delivery of Lists Section 18.011. FILE OF LISTS FOR COUNTYWIDE ELECTION. (a) The registrar shall maintain a file containing one of each of the lists prepared under this subchapter for each countywide election. • (b) The registrar shall retain each list on file for two years after election day except a list used in a presidential election, which shall be retained for four years after election day. • NOTE: There is no specification regarding electronic or paper format for retaining these. As such, we would recommend that the format in which the list was provided be the format in which it is retained. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

25. Active and Inactive Files TYPES MENTIONED IN ELECTION CODE • Application Files • Certificate Files • Appointment Files Each category will contain “active” and “inactive” files. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

26. Active and Inactive Files “Active” – is used to describe records that are currently valid and/or effective. When referring to voter records, this includes voters in a suspense status. “Inactive” – is used to describe records that are no longer valid and/or effective due to expiration, termination or cancellation. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

27. Active Application File – What is it? Introduced in 1985 to the Texas Election Code - Section 13.101: Active application file • This file contains the approved registration application of the registered voters of the county. • This file shall be maintained in alphabetical order by voter name on a countywide basis, or, if the registrar does not wish to maintain a list of registered voters in alphabetical order by voter name, then the list may be maintained in numerical order by registration number on a countywide basis. • Records are retained in this file as long as the voter’s registration is effective. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

28. Active Application File – What is included? Active application file • As a general rule of thumb, any action being taken to change or alter a person’s voter information should be retained with the application file. • Examples include: • Abstracts of judgment from the court (Section 16.005) • A permanent disability exemption request (Section 13.002(i)) • Returned Renewal Certificates (Section 14.021) • Response to Notice of Address Confirmation (Section 15.053(c)) • Statement of Residence (Section 63.0011(e)) • Additional items might be: • A confidentiality request submitted by a judge or peace officer Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

29. Active Application File – What is included? Active application file – Reinstatements • Reinstatement of a voter’s registration should be recorded on BOTH the Registration Application and Duplicate Registration Certificate. The registrar should note the date and the reason for the action taken direction on these two documents. (Section 16.037) • If the reinstatement is made as the result of a verbal response to an investigation, then the voter registrar would prepare a memorandum of the reply and retain it with the file. (Section 16.033(f)) Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

30. Active Application Files How do we handle DPS Applications since we do not receive a physical hard copy? • For those counties using TEAM, you should print the voter application when processing a DPS application. • This becomes the application that should be retained in your file system. • If you retain your files electronically, then you can print these to a PDF or scan them for storage in your file system. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

31. Inactive Application File – What is it? Introduced in 1985 to the Texas Election Code - Section 13.102: Inactive application file • There are two types of inactive application files, which must be maintained as separate files: • Rejected registration applications – this file contains the rejected registration application of applicants for registration in the county. • Cancelled voter applications • Each file must be maintained in alphabetical order by applicant or voter name on a countywide basis. • Records are retained in these files for two years after the date of rejection or cancellation. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

32. Inactive Application File– What is included? Rejected registration applications • This file should contain the applicant’s original voter registration application. • If the applicant is rejected as part of a challenge, then the written determination of challenge is retained with this file. (Section 13.079) • The registrar should enter the date of and the reason for the rejection on the application. (Section 13.080) Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

33. Inactive Application File– What is included? Cancelled voter applications • This file contains the same information retained in the Active Application File plus cancellation information • Cancellation request submitted by the voter (Section 16.0331) • Cancellation because of citizenship status(Section 16.0332) • Cancellation of a voter’s registration should be recorded on BOTH the Registration Application and Duplicate Registration Certificate. The registrar should note the date and the reason for the action taken on these two documents. (Section 16.034) Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

34. Application Files For more information on documents to retain in these files check out: LOCAL SCHEDULE EL RETENTION SCHEDULE FOR RECORDS OF ELECTIONS AND VOTER REGISTRATION (Second Edition, Effective September 3, 2014)13 TAC §7.125(a)(10) https://www.tsl.texas.gov/slrm/recordspubs/el.html Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

35. Application Files - Storage Where must they be stored? • According to Section 13.103 of the Texas Election Code, the registration application files must be maintained in the registrar’s office at all times in a place and manner ensuring their security. How must they be stored? • In paper format, or • Electronically Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

36. Application Files - Storage Introduced in 1995 to the Texas Election Code - Section 13.104: Optional Storage Method • The registrar may record the applications and documentation on an optical disk or other computer storage medium approved by the secretary of state. • The storage medium must allow for the creation of a copy of an application or supporting documentation. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

37. Application Files - Storage Does it matter which format I keep my files in? • No. The retention period for a record applies to the record regardless of the medium in which it is maintained. Some records listed in the Texas State Library schedule are maintained electronically in many offices, but electronically stored data used to create a record in any manner or the functional equivalent of a record as described in the schedule must be retained, along with the hardware and software necessary to access the data, for the retention period assigned to the record, unless backup copies of the data generated from electronic storage are retained in paper or on microfilm for the retention period. This includes electronic mail (e-mail), websites, and electronic publications. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

38. Application Files – Electronic Storage What is an approved medium of electronic storage? • Approved mediums of storage include, but are not limited to: external hard drives, secured desk top computers, or servers. If a county intends to use a storage medium other than one of these, then the county must first obtain approval from the Secretary of State. • See (https://www.tsl.texas.gov/slrm/recordspubs/el.html) and Active vs. Inactive storage policy for information on security of Electronic records Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

39. Important things to Consider for Electronic Storage • Security of Electronic Records • Portable device restrictions (see Active vs Inactive Storage Policy) • Backup of Information Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

40. Application Files – Electronic Storage Our county retains our application files electronically. Do we also need to keep the paper copies? • No, however actual disposal of such records by a local government is subject to the policies and procedures of its records management program. • As a practical matter, however, the Texas State Library has, in the past, recommended that scanned documents be retained for one (1) year before disposing of the physical copy. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

41. Application Files – Electronic Storage For additional questions regarding electronic storage • The Texas State Library provides consulting services by phone, mail, and e-mail. Each government information analyst is assigned a specific group of local governments. To find the analyst assigned to your county, please visit their website at:. https://www.tsl.texas.gov/slrm/local/countylist.html. All analysts may be reached at 512-463-7610. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

42. Certificate File – What is it? • The certificate file is comprised of the duplicate initial registration certificate. • If the voter registrar issues a corrected registration certificate, then the corrected certificate would replace the initial duplicate certificate. • Once the corrected certificate is issued, the initial duplicate certificate would only need to be retained as long as it has administrative value. (Section 15.141 & 13 TAC §7.125(a)(10)) Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

43. Active Certificate File – What is included? Section 15.141: Active certificate file • This file contains the duplicate initial registration certificate of the voters whose registrations are effective. • This file should be maintained in numerical order by registration number on a countywide basis. • Each certificate shall be retained on file during the time the registration is effective. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

44. Inactive Certificate File – What is included? Section 15.142: Inactive certificate file • This file contains the duplicate initial registration certificate of the voters who have been cancelled. • This file should be retained in numerical order by registration number on a countywide basis for each voting year • Each certificate should be retained on file for two years after the date of cancellation. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

45. Certificate Files - Storage Where must they be stored? • According to Section 15.144 of the Texas Election Code, the registration application files must be maintained in the registrar’s office at all times in a place and manner ensuring their security. How must they be stored? • The registrar may maintain the active or inactive certificate file as information stored in a form suitable for use with electronic data-processing equipment. (Section 15.143) Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

46. Certificate File Can the certificate file be retained with the application file? • This is not recommended. While Texas Election Code does not prohibit you from maintaining these files in the same location, it should be noted that the requirements regarding the order in which these files are kept differ. Application files should be maintained in alphabetical order on a countywide basis, while certificate files are stored in VUID order on a countywide basis. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

47. Active Appointment File Section 13.034: Active appointment file • This file contains the duplicate certificates of appointment of the volunteer deputy registrars whose appointments are effective. • This file should be maintained in alphabetical order by deputy name on a countywide basis. • Each certificate shall be retained on file during the time the appointment is effective. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

48. Inactive Appointment File • Section 13.035: Inactive appointment file • This file contains the duplicate certificates of appointment of the volunteer deputy registrars whose appointments have been terminated. • The date and the reason of termination should be listed on each duplicate certificate. (See Section 13.036 of the Texas Election Code for reasons of termination.) • This file should be maintained in alphabetical order by deputy name on a countywide basis. • Certificates are required to be retained on file for two years after the date of termination. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division