Bill Seeks To Rein In Sign-Ups
Third-Party Registration Could Be Ripe For Abuse
Posted: January 26, 2013
HARRISONBURG — A bill advancing in the House of Delegates attempts to solve an election practice that many say lends itself to fraudulent behavior.
HB 1747, carried by Del. John Cosgrove, R-Chesapeake, requires organizers of third-party registration drives to register with the State Board of Elections or local registrar’s offices before signing up voters.
Current regulations have no such stipulations: Anyone can print a voter registration application and register voters, without election officials knowing about it.
Voters must trust that the people signing them up to vote will turn in the applications to registrars.
In Harrisonburg last fall, eight completed forms — five from Rockingham County residents — were found in a city Dumpster. A Pennsylvania man working for an independent contractor hired by the Republican Party of Virginia to conduct voter registration drives is charged with 13 misdemeanors and felonies related to throwing them away.
While all eligible voters who filled out the forms were allowed to vote in November’s election, the situation brought to light the potential downside of third-party registration.
“I stressed after our incident here, people need to be cautious and know who they are handing their information to,” Rockingham County Registrar Doug Geib said.
Before hailing Cosgrove’s legislation as the solution, Geib wants to know how it will be implemented. The bill passed the House Privileges and Elections Committee on Friday and now moves to the full House.
Del. Steve Landes, R-Weyers Cave, is a member of the committee. He said third-party groups play an important role in the election process by signing up voters, but the legislation will help define that position.
“There needs to be some expectation and some understanding of what that responsibility is,” Landes said.
The bill also requires third-party groups to receive training and prohibits the “pre-populating” of applications.
An example of the latter practice also occurred last year in Virginia, when the Voter Participation Center, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit that tries to increase voter turnout among unmarried women and minorities, mailed applications with certain information already filled out on the registration forms.
In some cases, those documents were addressed to pets and the deceased.
Cosgrove’s bill would also require that third-party groups hand in completed applications within 10 days. The current deadline is 15 days.
“It protects the voter,” Geib said of the deadline. “Delaying that could jeopardize their registration status.”
Cosgrove did not return messages for comment.
Contact Preston Knight at 574-6272 or pknight@dnronline.com
HB 1747, carried by Del. John Cosgrove, R-Chesapeake, requires organizers of third-party registration drives to register with the State Board of Elections or local registrar’s offices before signing up voters.
Current regulations have no such stipulations: Anyone can print a voter registration application and register voters, without election officials knowing about it.
Voters must trust that the people signing them up to vote will turn in the applications to registrars.
In Harrisonburg last fall, eight completed forms — five from Rockingham County residents — were found in a city Dumpster. A Pennsylvania man working for an independent contractor hired by the Republican Party of Virginia to conduct voter registration drives is charged with 13 misdemeanors and felonies related to throwing them away.
While all eligible voters who filled out the forms were allowed to vote in November’s election, the situation brought to light the potential downside of third-party registration.
“I stressed after our incident here, people need to be cautious and know who they are handing their information to,” Rockingham County Registrar Doug Geib said.
Before hailing Cosgrove’s legislation as the solution, Geib wants to know how it will be implemented. The bill passed the House Privileges and Elections Committee on Friday and now moves to the full House.
Del. Steve Landes, R-Weyers Cave, is a member of the committee. He said third-party groups play an important role in the election process by signing up voters, but the legislation will help define that position.
“There needs to be some expectation and some understanding of what that responsibility is,” Landes said.
The bill also requires third-party groups to receive training and prohibits the “pre-populating” of applications.
An example of the latter practice also occurred last year in Virginia, when the Voter Participation Center, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit that tries to increase voter turnout among unmarried women and minorities, mailed applications with certain information already filled out on the registration forms.
In some cases, those documents were addressed to pets and the deceased.
Cosgrove’s bill would also require that third-party groups hand in completed applications within 10 days. The current deadline is 15 days.
“It protects the voter,” Geib said of the deadline. “Delaying that could jeopardize their registration status.”
Cosgrove did not return messages for comment.
Contact Preston Knight at 574-6272 or pknight@dnronline.com