New Voter Registration Requirements Being Adopted

The Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters is urging voters to register to vote early and make sure they carefully complete all required information on the voter registration form.

Due to changes in federal law that became effective this year, voters must provide additional identification information when registering or re-registering to vote. Some voters may also be asked to show proof of identity at the polls; however, the majority of voters still will not be required to show identification.

Registrants who possess a California driver’s license number or California identification card number must now include the number on their registration forms.  

Registrants who do not have either of these must include the last four digits of their Social Security number, if they have one. Registrants who do not have any of these forms of identification can still register to vote without providing any additional information.

This information is required by the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) and will be used to verify the voter’s identity against state records. 

The registrar’s office will make every effort to contact voters to collect any missing identification information. Voters are encouraged to register early to allow enough time for the information to be verified. If voters’ identification information cannot be verified, they will be mailed a letter explaining how they can still vote in the November election. 

Voters whose identity cannot be verified before Election Day will be asked to show proof of identity at the polls and allowed to cast a provisional ballot.  Some new voters may also be required by HAVA to show identification if they recently registered to vote by mail and are voting for the first time.

Valid forms of identification include any photo identification, utility, paycheck, bank statement or a document from a government agency showing the voter’s name and address. The voter’s sample ballot or other official correspondence from the registrar’s office will satisfy this requirement.

Voters who cannot show identification will still be allowed to cast a provisional ballot. Provisional ballots are processed after Election Day and subject to verification. Provisional voters will be issued a receipt with instructions for tracking the status of their ballots.

The deadline for registering or re-registering to vote for the November Election is Monday, Oct. 23. Voters need to re-register only if they have changed their name or address, or would like to change their political party affiliation.

Voter registration forms can be found at city halls, fire stations, post offices, public libraries and most county government offices. Registration forms are also available online at www.sccvote.org and at the registrar’s office, 1555 Berger Drive, Building 2, San Jose.

For more information, call toll free at (866) 430-VOTE.