Authority: Title 24.2, Chapter 1, Code of Virginia.
A. It is the intention of the General Assembly that all local precincts, other than central absentee precincts established under § 24.2-712, Code of Virginia, will use electronic pollbooks for elections held beginning in November, 2010.
B. Any locality using paper pollbooks for elections held beginning in November, 2010, shall be responsible for entering voting credit as provided in § 24.2-668. Additionally, any locality using paper pollbooks for elections held after November, 2010 may be required to reimburse the Department of Elections for state costs associated with providing paper pollbooks.
C. Municipalities will pay all expenses associated with May elections after June 30, 2009, including those costs incurred by the Department of Elections.
D. The State Board of Elections shall by regulation provide for an administrative fee up to $25 for each non-electronic report filed with the State Board under § 24.2-947.5. The regulation shall provide for waiver of the fee based upon indigence.
E. All unpaid charges and civil penalties assessed under Title 24.2 shall be subject to interest, the administrative collection fee and late penalties authorized in the Virginia Debt Collection Act, Chapter 48 of Title 2.2, § 2.2-4800 et seq.
F. Out of this appropriation, $212,687 the first year and $212,687 the second year from the general fund is provided for voter outreach and education required to inform voters about the photo identification requirements pursuant to Chapter 725 of the Acts of Assembly of 2013. It is the intent of the General Assembly that registration cards containing the voter's photograph and signature be provided free to any eligible voter upon request to the general registrar.
G. Out of this appropriation, $212,423 the first year and $212,423 the second year from the general fund is provided for conducting list maintenance mailings as required by the National Voter Registration Act.
H. No funds available within this appropriation shall be expended to substantially rebuild the Virginia Election & Registration Information System (VERIS) until such time as the Department of Elections, in consultation with the Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA), has (i) solicited feedback from the GR/EB Duties Workgroup, (ii) developed a product requirements document, and (iii) developed a draft request for proposals document for a potential replacement to the VERIS system. The Department shall submit a report to the Chairmen of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees by December 1, 2019, including the completed product requirements document and draft request for proposals document, as well as an assessment by the Department regarding the options of replacing or rebuilding the VERIS system, including the use of third-party vendors.
I. The Department of Elections, in collaboration with the Compensation Board, shall conduct a comparison of General Registrars' salaries, in relation to other local constitutional officers' salaries, between the years 1981 and 2018. Additionally, the Department shall prepare an analysis detailing the duties and job responsibilities for general registrars. The Department shall submit this information to the Chairmen of the Senate Finance and House Appropriations Committees by September 1, 2019.
J. Out of this appropriation, $147,308 the second year from the general fund is provided to fund expenses incurred by the Department associated with the 2020 presidential primary.
K. It is the intent of the General Assembly that the Department of Elections release a Request for Information in fiscal year 2020 related to the replacement of the Virginia Election and Registration Information System (VERIS). The Department shall provide an update to the Chairs of the House Appropriations Committee and the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee on the options and potential costs for replacing VERIS on or before October 1, 2020.
L.1. It is the intent of the General Assembly that federal awards from the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) under P.L. 116-93 be used to replace the Virginia Election and Registration Information System (VERIS) by July 1, 2022. Out of the amounts included in this item, $10,175,711 in the second year from nongeneral fund HAVA grants is provided to the Department of Elections.
2. The State Comptroller shall not release the nongeneral funds appropriated in this paragraph until the Department of Elections has submitted a plan outlining the use of funds to the Elections Assistance Commission (EAC), on or before May 1, 2020. The Department shall also submit this plan to the Director of the Department of Planning and Budget, and the Chairs of the House Appropriations Committee and the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee on or before May 1, 2020.
3. The Department of Elections, may consider utilizing HAVA funding to assist localities in complying with election security standards established by Chapter 426 of the Acts of Assembly of 2019, if the cost estimates from the Request for Information (RFI) for the replacement of the Virginia Election Registration Information System (VERIS) are less than the total amounts appropriated in this item.