Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024
A. Definition
Authorized Employee or an
Authorized Employee of a Drivers License
Facility-any official or employee of the Department of
Public Safety and Corrections or an official or employee of a
contractor of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections.
B. Qualifications. An
authorized employee at a driver's license facility shall possess the
following qualifications:
1. the
person shall be an official or employee of the Department of Public
Safety and Corrections or an official or employee of a contractor of
the Department of Public Safety and Corrections who is employed at a
facility for the issuance of Louisiana driver's license or Louisiana
identification cards;
2.
the person shall have received in-service training;
3. the person shall not participate
or engage in any political activity, except to exercise his right as
a citizen to express his opinion privately and to cast his vote as he
desires;
4. the person
shall not have been convicted of any election offense; and
5. the person shall not be a
candidate for public office.
C. Duties. An authorized employee
at a driver's license facility shall perform the duties listed below.
1. During regular working hours, an
authorized employee shall offer voter registration to any U.S.
citizen who obtains, renews, or changes the name or address on a
Louisiana Driver's License or Louisiana Identification Cards:
a. a person who is at least 16
years of age and who is an actual resident of the state, parish, and
precinct in which he seeks to register to vote; however, the person
will not be eligible to vote until the age of 18;
b. a person who is not under an
order of imprisonment for conviction of a felony as defined in
R.S.
18:2(2), except as
provided in
R.S.
18:102(A)(1)(b)
and
R.S.
18:102(A)(1)(c);
c. a person who has not been
interdicted after being declared to be mentally incompetent as a
result of a full interdiction or is not subject to a limited
interdiction where the persons right to vote has been suspended; and
d. a person who is a United States citizen.
2. An authorized employee shall
allow an applicant who resides at more than one place in the state
with an intention to reside there indefinitely, to choose which
residence will be used for registration purposes. However, if the
applicant has a homestead exemption, he must register and vote in the
precinct in which that residence is located. The exceptions to this
provision are:
a. if the person
resides in a nursing home (as defined in R.S. 18:333(A)) or in a
veterans home, he may register and vote at the address where the
nursing home or veterans home is located or where he has a homestead
exemption; or
b. if the
person is a bona fide full-time student attending an institution of
higher learning in this state, he may choose as his residence and may
register to vote either at the place where he resides while attending
the institution of higher learning or at the place where he resides
when not attending such institution of higher learning.
3. An authorized
employee shall assist any applicant who requests assistance in
registering to vote. Such assistance may consist of answering any
question the person might have about completing the registration form
and shall include assistance in the completion and execution of an
application, if requested by the applicant. Additionally, if the
person has a physical disability or is unable to read or write
English, such assistance shall include:
a. reading the document to the
applicant;
b. executing
the document by writing what the person dictates or what is said
through an interpreter; and
c. allowing the person to sign, or
if unable to sign, to make his mark in front of two witnesses who
shall also sign.
4. An authorized employee shall
require the applicant to provide sufficient information to establish
his age, identity, and residency.
5. An authorized employee shall
inform an applicant that if he does not declare a political party
affiliation that his voter registration application shall indicate
"No Party" on the application form.
6. An authorized employee shall
ensure that the information provided on the voter registration
application is legible and to the best of his knowledge accurate and
complete.
7. An
authorized employee shall administer any oath required on the voter
registration application, as authorized by
R.S.
18:114(F)(7).
8. An authorized employee shall
inform the applicant that the applicant is not officially registered
to vote until the application has been received and approved by the
parish registrar of voters. Upon approval by the registrar of voters,
a voter identification card will be mailed to the
applicant.
9. An
authorized employee shall ensure that the completed electronic voter
registration application is transmitted immediately to the Department
of State who shall transmit the application daily to the appropriate
parish registrar of voters. The date and time of transmission shall
automatically be recorded for electronic submissions. An authorized
employee shall ensure that a completed paper application is made
available to the designated person of the Department of Public Safety
and Corrections or its contractor who will be responsible for
transmittal to the parish registrar of voters for the parish in which
the driver's license facility is located. On the paper voter
registration application, the employee shall circle "MV", sign, and
date the bottom of each paper application before transmitting to the
Department of Public Safety and Corrections or its contractor. For a
paper voter registration application, the date of transmittal shall
be indicated on the application, and the transmittal shall be made
within five working days of the completion of the application form
unless the application is accepted within five days before the last
day for registration then the application form shall be transmitted
at the conclusion of each business day.
10. An authorized employee shall
ask any person making a change of name or a change of address on a
Louisiana Driver's License or Louisiana Identification Card if such
change is to be used for voter registration purposes. If affirmed,
such change shall be transmitted in the same manner as a voter
registration application form.
11. An authorized employee shall
keep any declinations to register to vote confidential, and shall
keep confidential the fact that any particular applicant has
submitted an application to register to vote at a drivers license
facility. All declinations shall be written and signed by the voter.
All such applications and declinations to register to vote shall be
used only for voter registration purposes.
C. Offenses. No person authorized
to accept voter registration application forms shall knowingly,
willfully, or intentionally:
1.
offer, promise, solicit, or accept money or anything of present or
prospective value to secure or influence a vote or registration of a
voter;
2. forge, alter,
deface, destroy, or remove from proper custodial care any application
for voter registration; or
3. intimidate, directly or
indirectly, any prospective voter in matters concerning registration
or nonregistration.
D. Penalties
1. Any authorized employee who
commits an offense as provided herein shall be subject to the
penalties provided in
R.S.
18:1461,
R.S.
18:1461.2, or
R.S.
18:1461.4.
2. Any authorized employee who
fails to comply with the provisions of law relative to registration
at driver's license facilities shall be subject to the penalties
established in
R.S.
18:114(H).
AUTHORITY
NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with
R.S.
18:114,
R.S.
18:2(2),
R.S.
18:62,
R.S.
18:101,
R.S.
18:102,
R.S.
18:105,
R.S.
18:106,
R.S.
18:1461,
R.S.
18:1461.2, and
R.S.
18:1461.4.