(a) General rule.--
(1) The Department of Transportation shall provide for
simultaneous application for voter registration in
conjunction with the process under 75 Pa.C.S. § 1510
(relating to issuance and content of driver's license). An
application under this subsection shall serve as an
application to register to vote unless the applicant fails
to sign the voter registration application. The secretary
has the primary responsibility for implementing and enforcing
the driver's license voter registration system created under
this section. The secretary, in consultation with the
Secretary of Transportation, may promulgate regulations for
implementing this section.
(2) An application for voter registration submitted to
the Department of Transportation under this subsection shall
be considered as updating any previous voter registration
information by a registrant.
(3) Any change of address submitted to the Department
of Transportation for the purposes of driver licensing shall
serve as notification of change of address for voter
registration for the registrant involved unless the
registrant indicates that the change of address is not for
voter registration purposes.
(b) Process.--
(1) The Department of Transportation shall provide for
an application for voter registration as part of a driver's
license application.
(2) The format of the driver's license/voter
registration application shall be determined and prescribed
by the secretary and the Secretary of Transportation.
(3) The voter registration application portion of the
application shall contain all the requirements of an official
voter registration application specified in section 1327
(relating to preparation and distribution of applications).
The voter registration portion of the application:
(i) may not require any information that duplicates
information required in the driver's license portion of
the form, other than a second signature; and
(ii) may require only the minimum amount of
information necessary to prevent duplicate voter
registration, to enable the commission to assess the
eligibility of the applicant and to administer voter
registration and other parts of the election process.
(c) Transmission.--
(1) The Department of Transportation shall forward
completed applications or contents of the completed voter
registration applications in machine-readable format to the
department by the close of registration for the ensuing
election.
(2) The department shall transmit the material to the
appropriate commission within ten days after the date of its
receipt by the Department of Transportation. If a voter
registration application is received by the Department of
Transportation within five days before the last day to
register before an election, the application shall be
transmitted to the appropriate commission not later than
five days after the date of its receipt by the Department
of Transportation.
(3) Upon receipt of the completed voter registration
information from the department, the commission shall make
a record of the date of the receipt of the application and
process the application. No applicant shall be deemed
eligible to vote until the commission has received and
approved the application.
(3.1) After the Department of Transportation is
connected to the SURE system and notwithstanding paragraphs
(1), (2) and (3), the Department of Transportation shall
transmit electronically the contents of a completed voter
registration application within five days of receipt of the
application. Upon receipt of the information from the
Department of Transportation, a commission shall make a
record of the date of the receipt of the application and
process the application in accordance with section 1328
(relating to approval of registration applications). If the
commission of the county of residence has not been connected
to the SURE system, the Department of Transportation shall
forward the completed application or contents of the
completed application to the department in accordance with
paragraph (1). No applicant shall be deemed eligible to vote
until the commission has received and approved an application
in accordance with section 1328.
(4) Changes of address shall comply with the following:
(i) Before the Department of Transportation is
connected to the SURE system, the Department of
Transportation shall notify the department of changes
of address received under subsection (a)(3). The
department shall notify the commission of the county of
the registrant's former residence. After the Department
of Transportation is connected to the SURE system, the
Department of Transportation shall notify the commission
of the county of the registrant's former residence. If
the registrant has moved to an address outside this
Commonwealth, the commission shall verify the address
change in accordance with section 1901 (relating to
removal of electors). Except as provided in subparagraph
(ii), if the registrant confirms in accordance with
section 1901(d) that he has moved to another county, the
commission shall cancel the registration and forward the
registrant's registration information to the commission
of the registrant's new county of residence. Except as
provided in subparagraph (ii), if the registrant has
moved to an address within the commission's jurisdiction,
the commission shall promptly update the registration
record of the registrant in accordance with section 1328.
All changes of address received by the Department of
Transportation under this section at least 30 days before
an election must be processed by the commission for the
ensuing election. For the purpose of this paragraph, the
term "registration information" means the registration
card and any other record of registration maintained by
a commission.
(ii) In the case of changes of address received by
the Department of Transportation which do not contain a
signature of the registrant, the commission receiving
the change of address notification shall mail a notice
to the registrant at the new residence address requesting
verification of the address change. If the change of
address is to a new residence outside the commission's
jurisdiction, the commission shall mail the following
notice:
Date.................
Office of the Registration Commission
.......... County, Pennsylvania
....... (Address and Telephone No. of County)
We have been notified by the Department of Transportation
that you recently changed your address from
................. (old residence address) to
............... (new residence address) and that this
change of address is to serve as a change of address for
voter registration purposes. Unless you notify this
office within ten days from the date of this notice that
this information is not correct, your voter registration
will be transferred to ........ County. You may notify
this office by writing your residence address, the date
and your signature on the bottom of this form and mailing
this notice to this office. You need not notify this
office if this information is correct.
............................
Chief Clerk
If the address change is within the commission's
jurisdiction, the commission shall mail a voter's
identification card to the registrant at the new
residence address.
(iii) If the registrant does not return the notice
under subparagraph (ii) within the ten-day period, the
commission shall process the change of address according
to subparagraph (i). If the registrant notifies the
commission that the information is incorrect and the
commission is satisfied with the registrant's explanation
of the discrepancy, the address of the registrant's
registration shall remain unchanged. If the verification
notification or voter identification card is returned
by the post office as undeliverable as addressed or with
a forwarding address, the commission shall send a
confirmation notice to the registrant's address of former
residence in accordance with section 1901(d)(2).
(5) Upon notification and confirmation of any change
of address, a commission shall promptly update information
contained in its registration record.
(d) Prohibition.--An individual who is not a qualified
elector is ineligible to register to vote under this section.
(e) Effect.--Failure to properly complete a voter
registration application shall not affect the validity of an
application for a driver's license, a renewal application or
an identification card application.
(f) Use of information.--No information regarding a
declination to register to vote in connection with an
application made under this section may be used for any purpose
other than voter registration.
(g) Staff.--Agents and employees working on behalf of the
Department of Transportation assisting in the completion of
voter registration applications shall conduct themselves in a
manner consistent with the following principles:
(1) They shall not seek to influence an applicant's
political preference or party registration or display
political preference or party allegiance.
(2) They shall not make a statement to an applicant or
take an action the purpose or effect of which is to
discourage the applicant from registering to vote.
(3) Applicants wishing to register to vote under this
section shall be given the same degree of assistance with
the voter registration application as with all other
Department of Transportation forms.
Agency employees who violate this subsection shall be removed
from employment, provided that the agency at its discretion may
impose a penalty of suspension without pay for at least 30 days,
but not more than 120 days, if it finds that the violation does
not warrant termination.
Cross References. Section 1323 is referred to in sections
1321, 1327, 1406, 1801 of this title.§ § 1323Application with driver's license application
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