**Offer Voter Registration every time a client has a qualifying event**
**Voter registration must be offered no matter the amount of time that has passed since the last qualifying event. **
Please refer to article National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) Qualifying Events.
The person interacting with the client is responsible for making the voter registration offer and informing the client that applying to register or declining to register to vote will not affect the amount of assistance he or she will receive and that the client’s decision will remain confidential. During a face–to–face encounter, DHS staff provides the Voter Registration Statement for the client to read while staff summarizes the information A Voter Registration Statement should be available in every county office interview room.
Staff should ask the client the voter preference question:
“If you are not registered to vote where you live now, would you like to apply to register to vote here today?”
Request the client to answer YES or NO on the Rights, Responsibilities, and Signature for Benefits form, OR the Voter Registration Statement, OR the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Application. Staff should also ask the client to sign the applicable form.
If a paper Voter Registration Statement is completed, it is done in the office and not given to the client to take home to complete. It is then imaged into the case record under form type “voter registration.” The Voter Registration Statement should then be sent to files. This should be processed like any other case document or verification.
The AFS worker must record the client’s response to the voter registration preference question by checking the correct boxes in FACS.
If the client wishes to register to vote, give the client the Voter Registration Application, and provide a DHS pre-addressed postage paid envelope.
If the client completes the Voter Registration Application in the office, review the application for completeness; make sure the application is date and location stamped; and then give the Voter Registration Application to the local voter registration site coordinator.
When making the offer of voter registration or assisting client with the voter registration application, you must not:
- Try to influence the client’s political affiliation or party registration
- Display his or her political preference or party allegiance
- Make any statement or take any action that might discourage the client from registering
- Lead the client to believe that a decision to register or not to register to vote has any bearing on the availability of services or benefits
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