FEC SEEKS COMMENTS ON UPDATED

 Washington- - The Federal Election Commission has released for public comment a draft of the updated national mail voter registration form.  The form has been updated to reflect information required by the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA). 

Questions were added to the form asking applicants if they are a citizen of the United States, and if they will be 18 years of age on or before election day.  Boxes labeled “Yes” and “No” allow applicants to check the appropriate response.  Applicants are also informed that they should not complete the form if they checked “No” in response to either question.

To conform to new voter identification documentation requirements of HAVA, a statement was added informing the applicant that if the form is submitted by mail and he or she is registering for the first time, appropriate information must be submitted with the mail-in registration form in order to avoid additional identification requirements upon voting at the polls for the first time. 

Instructions have also been added to address new HAVA requirements for driver's license and/or Social Security number information when used as ID numbers for applicants.

As of this date, many states remain in the process of amending and updating their election laws and procedures to reflect the new provisions of HAVA.  Consequently, the FEC has provided “default” draft instructions on ID numbers and first-time voter ID requirements for those states that have yet to incorporate the HAVA requirements into their instructions.

Comments on the draft application should be forwarded to Bryan Whitener in the FEC’s Office of Election Administration either by fax at 202-219-8500, or by email at nationalform@fec.gov.  Comments should be submitted no later than June 26, 2003.

The complete draft mail voter registration form is available on the FEC web site at http://www.fec.gov/votregis/pdf/nvra_form.pdf.