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LEGISLATURE OF NEBRASKA
ONE HUNDRED SIXTH LEGISLATURE
FIRST SESSION
LEGISLATIVE BILL 687
Introduced by Vargas, 7.
Read first time January 23, 2019
Committee: Government, Military and Veterans Affairs
1 A BILL FOR AN ACT relating to elections; to amend sections 32-202,
2 32-307, 32-308, 32-315, 32-1002, 32-1506, and 60-4,130.02, Reissue
3 Revised Statutes of Nebraska, and sections 32-312, 60-484,
4 60-484.02, 60-4,130, and 60-4,144, Revised Statutes Cumulative
5 Supplement, 2018; to change provisions relating to registering to
6 vote; to change penalty provisions; to eliminate obsolete
7 provisions; to harmonize provisions; to provide an operative date;
8 to repeal the original sections; and to outright repeal section
9 32-309, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska.
10 Be it enacted by the people of the State of Nebraska,
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1 Section 1. Section 32-202, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is
2 amended to read:
3 32-202 In addition to any other duties prescribed by law, the
4 Secretary of State shall:
5 (1) Supervise the conduct of primary and general elections in this
6 state;
7 (2) Provide training for election commissioners, county clerks, and
8 other election officials in providing for registration of voters and the
9 conduct of elections;
10 (3) Enforce the Election Act;
11 (4) With the assistance and advice of the Attorney General, make
12 uniform interpretations of the act;
13 (5) Provide periodic training for the agencies and their agents and
14 contractors in carrying out their duties under sections 32-308 to 32-310;
15 (6) Develop and print forms for use as required by sections 32-308,
16 32-310, 32-320, 32-329, 32-947, 32-956, and 32-958;
17 (7) Contract with the Department of Administrative Services for
18 storage and distribution of the forms;
19 (8) Require reporting to ensure compliance with sections 32-308 and
20 to 32-310;
21 (9) Prepare and transmit reports as required by the National Voter
22 Registration Act of 1993, 42 U.S.C. 1973gg et seq.;
23 (10) Develop and print a manual describing the requirements of the
24 initiative and referendum process and distribute the manual to election
25 commissioners and county clerks for distribution to the public upon
26 request;
27 (11) Develop and print pamphlets described in section 32-1405.01;
28 (12) Adopt and promulgate rules and regulations for elections
29 conducted under sections 32-952 to 32-959; and
30 (13) Establish a free access system, such as a toll-free telephone
31 number or an Internet web site, that any voter who casts a provisional
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1 ballot may access to discover whether the vote of that voter was counted
2 and, if the vote was not counted, the reason that the vote was not
3 counted. The Secretary of State shall establish and maintain reasonable
4 procedures necessary to protect the security, confidentiality, and
5 integrity of personal information collected, stored, or otherwise used by
6 the free access system. Access to information about an individual
7 provisional ballot shall be restricted to the individual who cast the
8 ballot.
9 Sec. 2. Section 32-307, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is
10 amended to read:
11 32-307 No materials advocating or advertising any political issue,
12 candidate, or party shall be displayed or distributed within fifty feet
13 of any voter registration site. No alcohol shall be served within fifty
14 feet of any voter registration site. The registration procedure shall be
15 conducted in a neutral manner and shall not be connected with anything
16 unrelated to the object of registering electors except as otherwise
17 provided in sections 32-308 and to 32-310.
18 Sec. 3. Section 32-308, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is
19 amended to read:
20 32-308 (1) The Secretary of State and the Director of Motor Vehicles
21 shall enter into an agreement to match information in the computerized
22 statewide voter registration list with information in the data base of
23 the Department of Motor Vehicles to the extent required to enable each
24 such official to verify the accuracy of the information provided on
25 applications for voter registration. The Director of Motor Vehicles shall
26 enter into an agreement with the Commissioner of Social Security under
27 section 205(r)(8) of the federal Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. 405(r)
28 (8), as such section existed on April 17, 2003, for purposes of the
29 Election Act.
30 (2) The Department of Motor Vehicles, with the assistance of the
31 Secretary of State, shall prescribe a voter registration application
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1 which may be used to register to vote or change his or her address for
2 voting purposes at the same time an elector applies for an original or
3 renewal motor vehicle operator's license, an original or renewal state
4 identification card, or a replacement thereof. The voter registration
5 application shall be designed so that the elector's information is
6 transmitted to the election commissioner or county clerk pursuant to
7 subsection (3) of this section unless the elector specifies on the form
8 that he or she does not want to register to vote or update his or her
9 voter registration record. The voter registration application shall
10 contain the information required pursuant to section 32-312 and shall be
11 designed so that it does not require the duplication of information in
12 the application for the motor vehicle operator's license or state
13 identification card, except that it may require a second signature of the
14 applicant. The department and the Secretary of State shall make the voter
15 registration application available to any person applying for an
16 operator's license or state identification card. The application shall be
17 completed at the office of the department by the close of business on the
18 third Friday preceding any election to be registered to vote at such
19 election. A registration application received after the deadline shall
20 not be processed by the election commissioner or county clerk until after
21 the election. If a voter registration application is submitted under this
22 section with the signature of the applicant but the applicant is not
23 eligible to register to vote, the submission shall not be considered a
24 violation of section 32-1502 or 32-1503 and the document submitted shall
25 not be considered a valid or completed voter registration application for
26 purposes of registration or enforcement of the Election Act unless the
27 applicant has willfully and knowingly taken affirmative steps to register
28 to vote knowing that he or she is not eligible to do so.
29 (3) The Department of Motor Vehicles, in conjunction with the
30 Secretary of State, shall develop a process to electronically transmit
31 voter registration application information received under subsection (2)
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1 of this section to the election commissioner or county clerk of the
2 county in which the applicant resides within the time limits prescribed
3 in subsection (4) of this section for each applicant verified by the
4 Department of Motor Vehicles to be a citizen of the United States and at
5 least eighteen years of age or will be eighteen years of age on or before
6 the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of the then-current
7 year. The Department of Motor Vehicles shall not transmit voter
8 registration application information for applications pursuant to section
9 60-480.01 . The Director of Motor Vehicles shall designate an
10 implementation date for the process which shall be on or before January
11 1, 2016.
12 (4) The voter registration application information shall be
13 transmitted to the election commissioner or county clerk of the county in
14 which the applicant resides not later than ten days after receipt, except
15 that if the voter registration application information is received within
16 five days prior to the third Friday preceding any election, it shall be
17 transmitted not later than five days after its original submission. Any
18 information on whether an applicant registers or declines to register and
19 the location of the office at which he or she registers shall be
20 confidential and shall only be used for voter registration purposes.
21 (5) For each voter registration application for which information is
22 transmitted electronically pursuant to this section, the Secretary of
23 State shall obtain a copy of the electronic representation of the
24 applicant's signature from the Department of Motor Vehicles' records of
25 his or her motor vehicle operator's license or state identification card
26 for purposes of voter registration. Each voter registration application
27 electronically transmitted under this section shall include information
28 provided by the applicant that includes whether the applicant is a
29 citizen of the United States, whether the applicant is of sufficient age
30 to register to vote, the applicant's residence address, the applicant's
31 postal address if different from the residence address, the date of birth
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1 of the applicant, the party affiliation of the applicant or an indication
2 that the applicant is not affiliated with any political party, the
3 applicant's motor vehicle operator's license number, the applicant's
4 previous registration location by city, county, or state, if applicable,
5 and the applicant's signature.
6 (6) State agency personnel involved in the voter registration
7 process pursuant to this section and section 32-309 shall not be
8 considered deputy registrars or agents or employees of the election
9 commissioner or county clerk.
10 Sec. 4. Section 32-312, Revised Statutes Cumulative Supplement,
11 2018, is amended to read:
12 32-312 The registration application prescribed by the Secretary of
13 State pursuant to section 32-304 or 32-311.01 shall provide the
14 instructional statements and request the information from the applicant
15 as provided in this section.
16 CITIZENSHIP—"Are you a citizen of the United States of America?"
17 with boxes to check to indicate whether the applicant is or is not a
18 citizen of the United States.
19 AGE—"Are you at least eighteen years of age or will you be eighteen
20 years of age on or before the first Tuesday following the first Monday of
21 November of this year?" with boxes to check to indicate whether or not
22 the applicant will be eighteen years of age or older on election day.
23 WARNING—"If you checked 'no' in response to either of these
24 questions, do not complete this application.".
25 NAME—the name of the applicant giving the first and last name in
26 full, the middle name in full or the middle initial, and the maiden name
27 of the applicant, if applicable.
28 RESIDENCE—the name and number of the street, avenue, or other
29 location of the dwelling where the applicant resides if there is a
30 number. If the registrant resides in a hotel, apartment, tenement house,
31 or institution, such additional information shall be included as will
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1 give the exact location of such registrant's place of residence. If the
2 registrant lives in an incorporated or unincorporated area not identified
3 by the use of roads, road names, or house numbers, the registrant shall
4 state the section, township, and range of his or her residence and the
5 corporate name of the school district as described in section 79-405 in
6 which he or she is located.
7 POSTAL ADDRESS—the address at which the applicant receives mail if
8 different from the residence address.
9 ADDRESS OF LAST REGISTRATION—the name and number of the street,
10 avenue, or other location of the dwelling from which the applicant last
11 registered.
12 TELEPHONE NUMBERS—the telephone number of the applicant at work and
13 at home. At the request of the applicant, a designation shall be made
14 that the telephone number is an unlisted number, and such designation
15 shall preclude the listing of the applicant's telephone number on any
16 list of voter registrations.
17 EMAIL ADDRESS—an email address of the applicant. At the request of
18 the applicant, a designation shall be made that the email address is
19 private, and such designation shall preclude the listing of the
20 applicant's email address on any list of voter registrations.
21 DRIVER'S LICENSE NUMBER OR LAST FOUR DIGITS OF SOCIAL SECURITY
22 NUMBER—if the applicant has a Nebraska driver's license, the license
23 number, and if the applicant does not have a Nebraska driver's license,
24 the last four digits of the applicant's social security number.
25 DATE OF APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION—the month, day, and year when
26 the applicant presented himself or herself for registration, when the
27 applicant completed and signed the registration application if the
28 application was submitted by mail or delivered to the election official
29 by the applicant's personal messenger or personal agent, or when the
30 completed application was submitted if the registration application was
31 completed pursuant to section 32-304.
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1 PLACE OF BIRTH—show the state, country, kingdom, empire, or dominion
2 where the applicant was born.
3 DATE OF BIRTH—show the date of the applicant's birth. The applicant
4 shall be at least eighteen years of age or attain eighteen years of age
5 on or before the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November to have
6 the right to register and vote in any election in the present calendar
7 year.
8 REGISTRATION TAKEN BY—show the signature of the authorized official
9 or staff member accepting the application pursuant to section 32-309 or
10 32-310 or at least one of the deputy registrars taking the application
11 pursuant to section 32-306, if applicable.
12 PARTY AFFILIATION—show the party affiliation of the applicant as
13 Democrat, Republican, or Other ........ or show no party affiliation as
14 Nonpartisan. (Note: If you wish to vote in both partisan and nonpartisan
15 primary elections for state and local offices, you must indicate a
16 political party affiliation on the registration application. If you
17 register without a political party affiliation (nonpartisan), you will
18 receive only the nonpartisan ballots for state and local offices at
19 primary elections. If you register without a political party affiliation,
20 you may vote in partisan primary elections for congressional offices.)
21 OTHER—information the Secretary of State determines will assist in
22 the proper and accurate registration of the voter.
23 Immediately following the spaces for inserting information as
24 provided in this section, the f