Overlooking box on the form can cause eligible applicants to be rejected, says Project Vote
Richmond, VA – A spot check of rejected voter registration applications in the state of Virginia found that a large percentage of applications had been rejected because applicants had overlooked an easily missed section on the state voter registration form.
Voting rights advocates from Project Vote are urging new voters and those updating their registrations in Virginia to make sure they read all the way through the application and fill out every section that has an asterisk.
In a recent review of approximately 300 rejected applications, Project Vote discovered that as many as a third of applicants had been rejected because they missed section 7 of the form about previous voter registration information.
“The design of Virginia’s registration form is slightly unusual, in that there is a section to complete after the signature box on the form,” explains Michael Slater, executive director of Project Vote. “We are concerned that eligible applicants are signing their applications, but then failing to complete the final box.”
When applying to register, or to update their registration information, would-be voters must fill out the form completely. Voters are urged to be sure to check one of the two boxes in section 7, whichever describes the applicant: either “No, I am not currently registered in Virginia or another state” or “Yes, I am currently registered to vote at another address in Virginia or in another state.” Voters who have registered previously must provide their previous registration information to the best of their ability.
With a statewide election coming this November, it is important that those citizens who want to vote have an updated voter registration.
“We don’t want any eligible Virginians to be denied the right to vote because of a minor paperwork error,” says Slater.