Election Advisory No. 2012-04
| To: | All Voter Registrars |
| From: | Keith Ingram, Director of Elections |
| Date: | March 12, 2012 |
| RE: | Training for Volunteer Deputy Registrars |
- Summary and Purpose
1:1. In accordance with Section 13.047, this directive establishes the training standards for training Volunteer Deputy Registrars.
- Requirements
2:1. House Bill 1570, Chapter 507, 82nd Legislature, 2011, which was precleared on September 15, 2011 by the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”), requires the Secretary of State (1) to adopt for volunteer deputy registrars standards of training in election law relating to the registration of voters, (2) to develop materials for a standardized curriculum for that training, and (3) to distribute the materials as necessary to each county voter registrar.
2:2. Attached to this Advisory are the following items in effect as of the date of this Advisory:
- Secretary of State prescribed training, contained in a power point presentation (Attachment A);
- Texas Volunteer Deputy Registrar Guide, as reference material for use in the field (Attachment B); and
- Certificate of Appointment Form (Attachment C).
2:3. Upon receipt of this Directive and its attachments, you should immediately familiarize yourself with the standards and materials. Any volunteer deputy registrar that you appoint in accordance with Section 13.031 of the Election Code on or after the date of this Advisory is not authorized to receive another person’s voter registration application until the volunteer deputy registrar has completed the Secretary of State prescribed training. You should so advise any volunteer deputy registrar appointed on or after the date of this Advisory.
- Minimum Training Standards
3:1. The voter registrar must establish a schedule of times and places where such training for volunteer deputy registrars will be offered. The training at a minimum must include the Secretary of State prescribed power point, but may also include additional training materials provided by the county voter registrar. We encourage voter registrars to schedule regular training sessions, and voter registrars must offer a minimum of one training class per month.
3:2. If you have been conducting your own training and education program for volunteer deputy registrars, that program should immediately cease and be replaced by the Secretary of State’s standards of training; however, as stated above, your county may include additional training materials to supplement the minimum training standards, such as completion of a test, prescribed by the Secretary of State. Please be advised that any additional training must first be precleared by the DOJ. It is your county’s responsibility to seek any such preclearance.
3:3. Volunteer deputy registrars must undergo the Secretary of State’s standards of training each time they receive a certificate of appointment that is in connection with each election cycle for which they are appointed that ends on December 31 of each even-numbered year. If the volunteer deputy registrar has already been trained and appointed in another county during the current election cycle, he/she does not have to undergo additional training. You may ask the previous registrar to confirm that the volunteer deputy registrar has undergone such training.
- Volunteer Deputy Registrar Materials
4:1. The County Voter Registrar must distribute to each appointed volunteer deputy registrar the following materials: (1) the Texas Volunteer Deputy Registrar Guide, (2) plenty of voter registration applications, (3) a certificate of appointment, and (4) a receipt book.
- Approval
5:1. Secretary of State Approval. Issued this 12th day of March, 2012.
Hope Andrade
Secretary of State
ADV2012-04 KI:EHW:MH:id
