Organisation : Virginia Department of Elections
Facility : Local voter registration office
Country : Virginia
Local voter registration office : voterinfo.sbe.virginia.gov/PublicSite/Public/FT2/PublicLookup.aspx?Link=Registration&Req=GR
Home Page : http://elections.virginia.gov/
Registration FAQ :
Who Conducts the Elections in Virginia?
** Local Electoral Boards
** Officers of Election
** General Registrars
** Virginia State Board of Elections
** Virginia Department of Elections (ELECT)
Local Electoral Boards :
Every city and county has a three-member Electoral Board. The following is a list of the main duties of your Electoral Board:
** Appoints the General Registrar for your locality.
** Appoints the Officers of Election for your locality.
** Trains the Officers of Election.
** Removes a General Registrar or Officer of Election who fails to discharge his or her duties.
Performs other duties assigned to it, including:
** Purchases and maintains the voting equipment used in your city or county.
** Prepares your ballots.
** Administers the absentee ballot process.
** Conducts the election.
** Certifies of the results of the election.
Officers of Election, also known as “Poll Workers”
There are Officers of Election in every polling place on Election Day.
They have two primary jobs – to help you vote and to make sure all votes are properly counted.
Their specific duties include :
** Preparing the polling place for Election Day, including opening the voting machines and making sure they work properly
** Opening the polls to voters
** Checking voter identification to ensure voters are eligible to vote
** Giving demonstrations of the voting equipment
** Offering assistance to any voter who requests it
** Directing voters to the voting machines
** Making sure each voter’s ballot is properly counted
** Maintaining order in the polling place
** Closing the polling place when the election is over
** Obtaining the count of votes from the voting equipment and reporting the results to the Electoral Board
Other information about Officers of Election :
** As much as possible, political party representation should be equal at each polling place.
** One officer is designated the Chief Officer and another the Assistant Chief for each polling place.
** Officers of Election are paid both for attending required training before the election and for working on Election Day.
** The amount of payment varies from locality to locality.
General Registrar of Voters :
Your General registrar is primarily responsible for registering voters and maintaining current voter registration records.
Specifically his or her duties include:
** Establishing and maintaining public places for voter registration.
** Participating in programs to educate the general public concerning registration and encouraging registration by the general public.
** Providing the appropriate forms for citizens to register and to obtain the information necessary to complete the applications.
** Accepting a registration application or request for transfer or change of address submitted by or for a resident of any other county or city in Virginia. Registrars process registration applications and requests for transfer or changes of address from residents of other counties and cities and forward the completed application or request to the registrar where the voter lives.
** Maintaining the registration records for his or her county or city in the central registration system; preserving the written applications of all persons who are registered; and preserving for a period of four years the written applications of all persons who are denied registration or whose registration is cancelled.
** Promptly notifying in writing any a person who is denied registration the reason for denial.
** Notifying by mail each affected voter of changes affecting his or her district or polling place.
** Provide to a resident of any county or city in Virginia, free of charge, the opportunity to apply for a Virginia Voter Photo Identification Card.
** Carrying out any other duties as directed by his or her Electoral Board.
A Registrar can also :
** Go into a county or city adjoining to his or her locality to register voters of his or her locality when conducting registration jointly with the registrar of the adjoining county or city.
** Provide staff for voter registration offices that are located at facilities of the Department of Motor Vehicles.
A General Registrar cannot :
** Use any political bias when registering voters, sending absentee ballots or performing any other requirement of the job, but must perform all his or her duties in a politically neutral manner.
More information about your General Registrar :
** The General Registrar is appointed by your Electoral Board to a four-year term.
** He or she can’t be removed, or not reappointed, because the party with a majority on the electoral board changes.
** His or her salary is determined by the population of your city or county.
About Elections in General :
There are three types of elections in which you may vote :
Primary – One of the methods by which a political party may nominate its candidate.
** Held in February or March of presidential election years to nominate candidates for president.
** Held in March for city governing bodies where permitted by charter, but held at the same time as the presidential primary in presidential election years.
** Held in June for all other offices regularly scheduled to be elected in November.
** A primary may not be called for a special election to fill a vacancy unless the primary is to be held on the regular date set for primaries.
General Election :
** Held in May for some city and town governing bodies and school boards.
** Held in November for all other elected offices.
Special Election :
Called by the Governor for a vacancy in:
** the U. S. Senate, or
** the U. S. House of Representatives
Called by Governor, President Pro Tempore of the Senate or Speaker of the House, as appropriate, for a vacancy in the General Assembly; and
Called by the Court of jurisdiction for any local office vacancy or local referendum.