§ 24.2-1002.01 Destruction of, or failure to mail or deliver, voter registration application; penalty
Overview of Statute
This section makes it a misdemeanor for a non-election official to agree to deliver a registration application and intentionally not do so. It also makes intentionally soliciting multiple registration applications from one person or intentionally falsifying an application a felony.
Statute
If any person (i) agrees to mail or deliver a signed voter registration application to the voter registrar or other appropriate person authorized to receive the application and (ii) intentionally interferes with the applicant’s effort to register either by destroying the application or by failing to mail or deliver the application in a timely manner, he shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. The mailing or delivery of an application shall be deemed timely for the purposes of this section if it is mailed or delivered within 10 days of the applicant’s signature or in accordance with the provisions of § 24.2-416.4 for processing before the closing of the registration records for the pending election whichever comes first. This section shall not apply to any state or local government employee acting in his official capacity. If any person intentionally solicits multiple registrations from any one person or intentionally falsifies a registration application, he shall be guilty of a Class 5 felony.
The application (http://elections.virginia.gov/Files/Forms/VoterForms/VoterRegistrationApplication.pdf) provides for a date next to the signature line in Box 7.
As a criminal statue, this will be strictly construed and require a form of intent. The vast majority of Chapter 10 violations are prosecuted by Commonwealth Attorneys, except where a violation is alleged to involve operation of the State Board or a local electoral board which may involve action by the Attorney General.
1. Definition for Registration records
All official records concerning the registration of qualified voters and shall include all records, lists, applications, and files, whether maintained in books, on cards, on automated data bases, or by any other legally permitted record-keeping method.
See § 24.2-101.
2. Definition for State
A state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.
See § 24.2-452.
3. Definition for Person
Any individual or corporation, partnership, business, labor organization, membership organization, association, cooperative, or other like entity.
For the purpose of applying the filing and reporting requirements of this chapter, the term “person” shall not include an organization holding tax-exempt status under § 501(c) (3), 501(c) (4), or 501(c) (6) of the United States Internal Revenue Code which, in providing information to voters, does not advocate or endorse the election or defeat of a particular candidate, group of candidates, or the candidates of a particular political party.
See § 24.2-945.1.
4. Definition for Election
A general, primary, or special election.
See § 24.2-101.