                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

DUTY OF GENERAL REGISTRAR ON RECEIPT OF APPLICATION; STATEMENT OF VOTER (§
24.2-706)

A. On receipt of an application for an absentee ballot, the general registrar
shall enroll the name and address of each registered applicant on an absentee
voter applicant list that shall be maintained in the office of the general
registrar with a file of the applications received. The list shall be available
for inspection and copying and the applications shall be available for
inspection only by any registered voter during regular office hours. Upon
request and for a reasonable fee, the Department of Elections shall provide an
electronic copy of the absentee voter applicant list to any political party or
candidate. Such list shall be used only for campaign and political purposes. Any
list made available for inspection and copying under this section shall contain
the post office box address in lieu of the residence street address for any
individual who has furnished at the time of registration or subsequently, in
addition to his street address, a post office box address pursuant to subsection
B of &#xA7; 24.2-418.
			No list or application containing an individual&#8217;s social security
number, or any part thereof, or the individual&#8217;s day and month of birth,
shall be made available for inspection or copying by anyone. The Department of
Elections shall prescribe procedures for general registrars to make the
information in the lists and applications available in a manner that does not
reveal social security numbers or parts thereof, or an individual&#8217;s day
and month of birth.

B. The completion and timely delivery of an application for an absentee ballot
shall be construed to be an offer by the applicant to vote in the election.
			The general registrar shall note on each application received whether the
applicant is or is not a registered voter. In reviewing the application for an
absentee ballot, the general registrar shall not reject the application of any
individual because of an error or omission on any record or paper relating to
the application, if such error or omission is not material in determining
whether such individual is qualified to vote absentee.

C. If the application has been properly completed and signed and the applicant
is a registered voter of the precinct in which he offers to vote, the general
registrar shall, at the time when the printed ballots for the election are
available, send by the deadline set out in § 24.2-612, obtaining a certificate
or other evidence of either first-class or expedited mailing or delivery from
the United States Postal Service or other commercial delivery provider, or
deliver to him in person in the office of the registrar, the following items and
nothing else:

   1. An envelope containing the folded ballot, sealed and marked &#8220;Ballot
   within.&#8221;

   2. An envelope for resealing the marked ballot, on which envelope is printed
   the following:
   				&#8220;Statement of Voter.&#8221;
   				&#8220;I do hereby state, subject to felony penalties for making false
   statements pursuant to &#xA7; 24.2-1016, that my FULL NAME is (last, first,
   middle); that I am now or have been at some time since last November&#8217;s
   general election a legal resident of (STATE YOUR LEGAL RESIDENCE IN VIRGINIA
   including the house number, street name or rural route address, city, zip
   code); that I received the enclosed ballot(s) upon application to the
   registrar of such county or city; that I opened the envelope marked
   &#8216;ballot within&#8217; and marked the ballot(s), without assistance or
   knowledge on the part of anyone as to the manner in which I marked it (or I am
   returning the form required to report how I was assisted); that I then sealed
   the ballot(s) in this envelope; and that I have not voted and will not vote in
   this election at any other time or place.
   				Signature of Voter __________________________________
   				Last four digits of voter&#8217;s social security number _______________
   				Voter&#8217;s birth year _______________________
   				Date ________________&#8221;
   				For elections held after January 1, 2004, instead of the envelope
   containing the above oath, an envelope containing the standard oath prescribed
   by the presidential designee under &#xA7; 101(b)(7) of the Uniformed and
   Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. &#xA7; 20301 et seq.) shall
   be sent to voters who are qualified to vote absentee under that Act.
   				For purposes of properly completing this statement, the unique identifier
   assigned to the voter in the voter registration system pursuant to subdivision
   A 1 of &#xA7; 24.2-404 shall be accepted in place of the last four digits of
   the voter&#8217;s social security number for those voters whose registration
   includes a statement of affirmation that they have never been issued a social
   security number.
   				When this statement has been properly completed and signed by the
   registered voter, his ballot shall not be subject to challenge pursuant to
   &#xA7; 24.2-651.

   3. An envelope, properly addressed and postage prepaid, for the return of the
   ballot to the general registrar by mail or by the applicant in person, or to a
   drop-off location.

   4. Printed instructions for completing the ballot and statement on the
   envelope and returning the ballot. Such instructions shall include information
   on the sites of all drop-off locations in the county or city. Whenever there
   is a proposed constitutional amendment or a statewide referendum to be voted
   on by the voters, these instructions shall also include the website address
   where the explanation of the proposed amendment prepared pursuant to &#xA7;
   30-19.9 or the information about the referendum prepared pursuant to &#xA7;
   30-19.10 is posted on the Department&#8217;s website.
   				For federal elections held after January 1, 2004, for any voter who is
   required by subparagraph (b) of 52 U.S.C. &#xA7; 21083 of the Help America
   Vote Act of 2002 to show identification the first time the voter votes in a
   federal election in the state, the printed instructions shall direct the voter
   to submit with his ballot (i) a copy of a current and valid photo
   identification or (ii) 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. Such individual who desires to vote by mail but who
   does not submit one of the forms of identification specified in this paragraph
   may cast such ballot by mail and the ballot shall be counted as a provisional
   ballot under the provisions of &#xA7; 24.2-653.01. The Department of Elections
   shall provide instructions to the electoral boards for the handling and
   counting of such provisional ballots pursuant to &#xA7; 24.2-653.01 and this
   section.

   5. For any voter entitled to vote absentee under the Uniformed and Overseas
   Citizens Absentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. &#xA7; 20301 et seq.), information
   provided by the Department of Elections specific to the voting rights and
   responsibilities for such citizens, or information provided by the registrar
   specific to the status of the voter registration and absentee ballot
   application of such voter, may be included.
   				The envelopes and instructions shall be in the form prescribed by the
   Department of Elections.

D. The general registrar may contract with a third party for the printing,
assembly, and mailing of the items set forth in subsection C. The general
registrar shall provide to the contractor in a timely manner the names,
addresses, precincts, and ballot styles of voters requesting an absentee ballot
by mail. The vendor shall provide to the general registrar a report of the
voters to whom the absentee ballot materials have been sent.

E. If the applicant completes his application in person under &#xA7; 24.2-701 at
a time when the printed ballots for the election are available, he may request
that the general registrar send to him by mail the items set forth in
subdivisions C 1 through 4, instead of casting the ballot in person. Such
request shall be made no later than 5:00 p.m. on the eleventh day prior to the
election in which the applicant offers to vote, and the general registrar shall
send those items to the applicant by mail, obtaining a certificate or other
evidence of mailing.

F. If the applicant is a covered voter, as defined in &#xA7; 24.2-452, the
general registrar, at the time when the printed ballots for the election are
available, shall mail by the deadline set forth in &#xA7; 24.2-612 or deliver in
person to the applicant in the office of the general registrar the items as set
forth in subdivisions C 1 through 4 and, if necessary, an application for
registration. A certificate or other evidence of mailing shall not be required.
If the applicant requests that such items be sent by electronic transmission,
the general registrar, at the time when the printed ballots for the election are
available but not later than the deadline set forth in &#xA7; 24.2-612, shall
send by electronic transmission the blank ballot, the form for the envelope for
returning the marked ballot, and instructions to the voter. Such materials shall
be sent using the official email address or fax number of the office of the
general registrar published on the Department of Elections website. The State
Board of Elections may prescribe by regulation the format of the email address
used for transmitting ballots to eligible voters. A general registrar may also
use electronic transmission facilities provided by the Federal Voting Assistance
Program. The voted ballot shall be returned to the general registrar as
otherwise required by this chapter.

G. The circuit courts shall have jurisdiction to issue an injunction to enforce
the provisions of this section upon the application of (i) any aggrieved voter,
(ii) any candidate in an election district in whole or in part in the
court&#8217;s jurisdiction where a violation of this section has occurred, or is
likely to occur, or (iii) the campaign committee or the appropriate district
political party chairman of such candidate. Any person who fails to discharge
his duty as provided in this section through willful neglect of duty and with
malicious intent shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor as provided in
subsection A of &#xA7; 24.2-1001.

HISTORY: Code 1950, §§ 24-327, 24-332, 24-333, 24-345.6, 24-345.7; 1952, c.
509; 1956, c. 525; 1958, c. 351; 1970, c. 462, § 24.1-229; 1971, Ex. Sess., cc.
119, 247, 265; 1972, c. 620; 1974, c. 428; 1975, c. 515; 1977, c. 490; 1978, c.
778; 1980, c. 639; 1981, c. 425; 1983, c. 461; 1988, cc. 624, 691; 1993, c. 641;
1994, cc. 633, 656; 1996, c. 253; 2000, c. 421; 2001, cc. 621, 866; 2002, cc.
785, 819; 2003, cc. 247, 478; 2004, c. 410; 2006, c. 438; 2007, c. 318; 2008,
cc. 106, 300, 379; 2009, cc. 345, 405, 873; 2010, cc. 213, 316, 449, 538, 645,
812; 2011, cc. 427, 458; 2012, c. 393; 2015, cc. 313, 644, 645; 2016, cc. 16,
463; 2019, cc. 668, 669; 2020, cc. 289, 735, 1149, 1151, 1201; 2021, Sp. Sess.
I, cc. 246, 471, 522; 2022, c. 254; 2023, c. 785.