Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 9, September, 2024
Scope of Rules
These rules will set forth the procedures for processing and
administering the requirement that voters verify their voter registration
before they are permitted to vote. These rules are in addition to, and not a
substitute for, the laws of the State of Arkansas and rules promulgated by the
Secretary of State.
§ 801
Definitions
(a) Additional
Identification Requirement - documentary identification separate from that
which is required to verify voter registration that certain first-time voters
who register by mail must show to cast a regular ballot during early voting or
at the polls on election day. Acceptable identification documents include a
copy of current and valid photo identification, or 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.1
(b) Administrator - the administrative head
of a long-term care or residential care facility licensed by the
state.
(c) Documentation of
Residency - a statement by the administrator of a residential care facility or
long-term care facility which specifically identifies the full name of the
resident in the body of the letter and is valid for one year after the date it
is signed and issued. This documentation shall only be accepted if it is on the
form provided by the Secretary of State2
(d) Long-Term Care or Residential Care
Facility - a nursing home, residential care facility, assisted living facility,
post-acute head injury retraining and residential care facility, or any other
facility which provides long-term medical or personal care, and which is
licensed by the State of Arkansas.
(e) Photo Identification:
(1) A document or identification card that
satisfies all of the following conditions:
A.
Shows the name of the person to whom the document was issued;
B. Shows a photograph of the person to whom
the document was issued;
C. Is
issued by the United States, the State of Arkansas, or an accredited
postsecondary educational institution in the State of Arkansas; and
D. If displaying an expiration date, the
document or card is not expired or expired no more than four (4) years before
the date of the election in which the person seeks to vote.
(2) Documents or Identification
cards that comply with the above requirements for photo identification include,
without limitation, the following:
A. A
driver's license;
B. A photo
identification card;
C. A concealed
handgun carry license;
D. A United
States passport;
E. An employee
badge or identification document issued to any person by an accredited
postsecondary educational institution in the State of Arkansas;
F. A United States Military identification
document;
G. A public assistance
identification card if the card shows a photograph of the person to whom the
document or identification card was issued; and
H. A voter identification card as provided
under A.C.A. §
7-5-324 and rules propounded by the Secretary of
State3
(f) Verification of Voter Registration - The
process by which an individual seeking to vote presents a photo identification
to an election official for the purpose of confirming that the individual
physically present at the poll is the same individual to whose voter
registration the vote cast will be credited.
§ 802
Verification of Voter
Registration Required When Voting at the Polls
(a) All voters, except those who reside in a
long-term care or residential care facility, must verify their voter
registration in order to cast a regular ballot at the polls during early voting
and on election day.4
(b) A person who resides in a long-term care
or residential care facility licensed by the state may instead provide
documentation from the administrator of the facility attesting that the person
is a resident of the facility5. This documentation
shall be provided on a standardized form adopted by the Secretary of
State.6
§ 803
Verification of Voter
Registration by Election Officials
(a)
The photo identification shall be used to verify the name and appearance of the
voter. The Precinct Voter Registration List shall be used to verify the address
of the voter by comparing the voter's address on the list to the address stated
by the voter.
(b) The election
official verifying the voter registration of a voter shall:
(1) Verify that the name on the photo
identification is consistent with the name in the Precinct Voter Registration
List, allowing for abbreviations and nicknames;
(2) If the name is consistent, compare the
photograph to the voter to determine whether the voter is the person depicted
in the photograph, given reasonable allowances for changes in hair color,
glasses, facial hair, cosmetics, weight, age, injury, and other physical
characteristics;
(3) If the
election official is satisfied that the voter is the person depicted in the
photograph and the name is consistent with the name in the Precinct Voter
Registration List, then issue the voter a regular ballot;
(4) If the name appearing on the voter's
photo identification varies in part from the name in the Precinct Voter
Registration List or the name as stated by the voter, an election official
should issue a regular ballot only if the variation can be explained as an
abbreviation of a given name, the inclusion of a nick name on the photo
identification where the name still bears substantial similarity to the voter's
name on the Precinct Voter Registration List, a lawful change in the voter's
name due to marriage or divorce, or other similar circumstances which satisfy
the election official that the voter is the person depicted in the photograph
so long as the name still bears substantial similarity to the voter's name on
the Precinct Voter Registration List and all variations are
explained;
(5) If the variation is
due to a change in the voter's name and the name reflected in the Precinct
Voter Registration List is the voter's old name, the voter should only be
issued a ballot after the voter completes a voter registration application form
for the purpose of updating the voter's information;
(6) If the election official determines that
the photo identification presented does not depict the voter or the name of the
voter in the Present Voter Registration List is insufficiently similar to the
name appearing on the photo identification, the question of whether the voter
is permitted to cast a regular ballot shall be referred to the election judge
of that polling site who shall resolve any marginal cases of identity in favor
of the voter; and
(7) If the
election judge agrees that the photo identification does not depict the voter
or that the name that appears on the photo identification is insufficiently
similar to the name on the Precinct Voter Registration List, the voter will
have failed to verify his or her voter registration and the poll worker shall
offer the voter a provisional ballot.
(c) The election judge at any polling site is
the election official who is in charge of that polling site regardless of the
title used locally to reference this election official.
§ 804
Additional Identification
Requirement for Certain First-Time Voters
Certain first-time voters
who register by mail and who, when registering to vote do not provide the
required identification documentation, will be flagged on the Precinct Voter
Registration List for additional identification documentation when voting at
the polls during early voting, on election day, or by voting using an absentee
ballot. A flagged voter who presents a valid photo identification that is also
current (i.e., not expired) may vote without presenting an additional
identification document. However, if a flagged voter presents a valid photo
identification that is not current (i.e., is expired) and valid for the purpose
for which it was issued, the flagged voter must also show a current and valid
photo identification or 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.7
§ 805
Failure to Verify Voter
Registration or Present other Required Documentation at the Polls
(a) A person voting at the polls during early
voting or on election day who did not verify their voter registration or, if a
resident of a long-term care or residential care facility licensed by the
state, who did not provide documentation of residency from the administrator of
the facility attesting that the person is a resident of the facility, shall be
offered a provisional ballot.8
(b) A first-time voter who registered by mail
who did not present the additional identification, if required under §803,
shall be offered a provisional
ballot.9
§ 806
Identification Required When
Voting Absentee
(a) The absentee voter
must submit verification of their voter registration when they return their
absentee ballot to the clerk's office.
10 A photocopy of any document that
qualifies as photo identification under these rules shall be sufficient to
satisfy the photo identification requirement when verifying the voter's
registration.
(b) If a resident of
a long-term or residential care facility licensed by the State of Arkansas does
not submit photo identification in order to verify their voter registration,
that resident's ballot will still be counted as a regular ballot if the voter
submits documentation of residency from the administrator of the facility
attesting that the person is a resident of the
facility.11
(c) Active-duty members of the uniformed
services and merchant marine voters and their spouses and dependents who are
away from the county because of the active-duty status of a uniformed service
or merchant marine member are exempt from the identification requirement for
absentee ballots.12
(d) The ballot of a voter who failed to
verify their voter registration and who is not otherwise entitled to have his
or her absentee ballot counted without verification under this section shall be
considered a provisional ballot.
13
§ 807
Curing Provisional Ballots
Created by the Failure to Verify the Voter's Registration
(a) Voters at the Polls
(1) A provisional ballot cast because a voter
failed to verify their voter registration when voting at the polls during early
voting or on election day shall be counted and included in the certified
results of the election if:
(A) The voter's
ballot is not successfully challenged for any other reason; and
(B) The voter subsequently verifies their
voter registration to either the county clerk or the county board of election
commissioners by noon on the Monday following the election.
(2) The voter may verify his or
her voter registration to the county board by presenting photo identification
at any meeting of the county board held before noon on the Monday following the
election.
(3) The voter may verify
his voter registration to the county clerk by presenting the photo
identification to the county clerk before noon on the Monday following the
election.
(b) Absentee
Voters
(1) The ballot of an absentee voter
that was made provisional for failure to verify that person's voter
registration when returning his or her absentee ballot shall be counted and
included in the certified results of the election if:
(A) The absentee voter's ballot is not found
deficient for any other reason; and
(B) The absentee voter verifies his or her
voter registration in person to either the county clerk or the county board of
election commissioners by noon on the Monday following the election the voter's
required identification.
(2) The absentee voter may verify his or her
voter registration to the county board by presenting photo identification to
the county board at any meeting of the county board held before noon on the
Monday following the election.
(3)
The absentee voter may alternatively verify his voter registration to the
county clerk by presenting the photo identification to the county clerk before
noon on the Monday following the election.
§ 808
Assessment of Validity of
Photo Identification Submitted Postelection
(a) When verifying the voter registration of
a voter who cast a provisional ballot at the poll or whose absentee ballot was
deemed provisional based on the voter's failure to verify his or her voter
registration, the county clerk or county board shall compare the photograph to
the voter to determine whether the voter is the person depicted in the
photograph, given reasonable allowances for changes in hair color, glasses,
facial hair, cosmetics, weight, age, injury and other physical
characteristics.
(b) The county
clerk or the county board verifying the voter's registration shall make a
photocopy of the photo identification and retain the copy with the voter's
provisional ballot envelope.
§
809
County Clerk to Provide Verification of Voter
Registration to Election Commission
If a voter verifies his or her
voter registration to the county clerk after the election, the county clerk who
conducts the verification shall provide the copy of the voter's photo
identification to the county board before the county board certifies the
election.
1 A.C.A. §
7-5-201(e)
2 A.C.A. §
7-5-905
3 Ark. Const. amend. 51, §13(b);
A.C.A. §
7-1-101(38)
4 Ark. Const. amend. 51,
§13(b)(2)(B)
5 Ark. Const. amend. 51,
§13
6 A.C.A. §
7-5-905
7 A.C.A. §
7-5-201(e)
8 Ark. Const. amend. 51,
§13(b)(2); A.C.A. §
7-5-305(a)(8)(B)
9 Ark. Const. amend. 51,
§13(b)(6); A.C.A. §
7-5-201(e)
10Ark. Const. amend. 51,
§13(b)(3); A.C.A. §
7-5-323
11 Ark. Const. amend. 51,
§13(b)(3)(B)(iii)
12 Ark. Const. amend. 51,
§13(b)(3)(B)(i)-(ii)
13 Ark. Const. amend. 51,
§13(b)(3)(A)
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