AAPD’s Voter Registration Implementation Guide for Nonprofits

The fate of programs serving people with disabilities will be decided at the polls!

If the primary activity of your organization is to provide services to people with disabilities, and if your organization receives state funding to provide these services, the organization must be designated as a voter registration agency.

Human service and health organizations can help empower their clients by systematically offering voter registration during the application, intake, or orientation process, and by registering all of their employees to vote.

• At least half of all Americans with disabilities are not registered to vote. While the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) makes voter registration available at motor vehicle and public assistance agencies, many people with disabilities are not being reached. For this reason, Section 7a of the NVRA says that "each state shall designate as voter registration agencies.. all offices in the state that provide state-funded programs primarily engaged in providing services to people with disabilities." Private non profit organizations and state agencies are covered by the law. Some agencies, but by no means all, that are covered under this law include: Medicaid; vocational/rehabilitation agencies; special education agencies; commissions for the deaf and the blind; para-transit providers; independent living centers; disability specific service providers such as United Cerebral Palsy, ARCs, MS Society, Epilepsy Foundation, Muscular Dystrophy Association, etc.

The Help America Vote Act (HAVA) requires states to have an electronic, interactive, statewide voter registration database. The federal government provides 95% of the cost. The state HAVA implementation plan should include electronic linking Medicaid and disability agencies to the state’s voter registration file.

• Many will vote. Studies show that 70% of the people whom volunteer canvassers register to vote in welfare and food stamps offices actually go to the polls and vote in presidential elections.

FOLLOW THESE FOUR EASY STEPS

1. Appoint one permanent staff person to oversee and coordinate voter registration activities. This person should design the best method for routinely offering voter registration in the intake process, at the reception desk, or during orientation at your agency.
   
2. Agency intake forms and procedures should be amended to include the question, "IF YOU ARE NOT REGISTERED TO VOTE WHERE YOU NOW LIVE, WOULD YOU LIKE TO REGISTER TO VOTE HERE TODAY?"
   
3. Clients should always be offered help in completing the voter registration form. HAVA requires--first time voters who register by mail must show identification at the polls. In many states, an agency representative delivers voter registration forms to the elections office. They are deemed not to be mail-in registrations, exempting registrants from the identification requirement. Obtain answers to commonly asked questions such as, "How will I know if I'm registered?" "Where do I vote?" "How do I get an absentee ballot?" "Do I need an I.D. card to vote?" "Can I register to vote at age 17 if I will be 18 on Election Day?" "If I register now, am I permanently registered?" "Do I have to choose a political party when I register?" "If I vote in a party's primary election, do I have to vote for that party in the general election?"
   
4. Record the names and phone numbers of people who register to vote at your agency. This step is for get-out-the-vote efforts. You can also keep track of how many people register to document your success to your staff, board, funders, local coalitions, national affiliates, or the press.

ALL VOTER REGISTRATION SERVICES MUST BE NON-PARTISAN

"Non-partisan" means that the activity or program shall not be influenced by, affiliated with, or supportive of the interests or policies of any political party or candidate. Support for candidates of two parties in an election ("bipartisanship") is not a non-partisan activity. You need to put up a sign which reads:

• Our voter registration services are available without regard for the voter's political preference. Information and other assistance regarding registering or voting, including transportation and other services offered, shall not be withheld or refused on the basis of support for or opposition to a particular candidate or particular political party.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q. Can my organization work in a coalition with other groups that conduct voter registration, education, and get-out-the-vote programs?

A. Yes, as long as the effort is non-partisan. Participating organizations and individuals cannot make any statements in support of or in opposition to any particular candidate or party, or conduct any other activity designed to reflect a preference or recommendation for any political party or candidate.

Q. Can vehicles owned by non-profit organizations be used to transport voters to the polls? Can drivers employed by the organization transport voters to the polls?

A. Yes to both questions. You can even affix nonpartisan messages to vehicles encouraging voters to go to the polls. However, make certain that the vehicles and the drivers do not display any partisan literature, buttons, posters, flyers, bumper stickers or other political propaganda.

Q. Can a staff person registering voters in a 501(c)3 agency wear a button or put a bumper sticker on his/her car that has the name of a favored candidate?

A. No, not while registering the voters. This caution does not apply to referenda; you may urge citizens to "support or stop Proposition X."

Q. Can my agency place posters in conspicuous places?

A. Yes, as long as they do not refer to political parties or candidates. Note: the NVRA applies to all states except: Idaho, Minnesota, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Wisconsin and Wyoming. These states are exempt because they offer voter registration at the polling place on election day; North Dakota does not have a voter registration system.

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