Sec. 112. List maintenance, privacy, and security
1,525 words·~7 min read·
/bill/113/hr/12/ih/section-112A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
The chief State election official of each State shall establish standards governing the comparison of data on the Statewide computerized voter registration list under section 303 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002, the data provided by various source agencies under section 111, and relevant data from other sources, including the specific data elements and data matching rules to be used for purposes of determining— whether a data record from any source agency represents the same individual as a record in another source agency or on the Statewide list; whether a data record from any source agency represents an individual already registered to vote in the State; whether two data records in the Statewide computerized voter registration list represent duplicate records for the same individual; whether a data record supplied by any list maintenance source represents an individual already registered to vote in the State; and which information will be treated as more current and reliable when data records from multiple sources present information for the same individual.
The chief State election official of a State shall establish uniform and non-discriminatory standards describing the specific conditions under which an individual will be determined for list maintenance purposes to be ineligible to vote in an election for Federal office in the State. The chief State election official of a State shall publish and enforce a privacy and security policy specifying each class of users who shall have authorized access to the computerized Statewide voter registration list, specifying for each such class the permission and levels of access to be granted, and setting forth other safeguards to protect the privacy and security of the information on the list.
Such policy shall include security safeguards to protect personal information in the data transfer process under section 111, the online or telephone interface, the maintenance of the voter registration database, and audit procedure to track individual access to the system. The chief election official of a State shall establish policies and enforcement procedures to prevent unauthorized access to or use of the computerized Statewide voter registration list, any list or other information provided by a source agency under section 111, or any maintenance source for the list.
Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to prohibit access to information required for official purposes for purposes of voter registration, election administration, and the enforcement of election laws. The chief election official of a State shall establish policies and enforcement procedures to maintain security during inter-agency transfers of information required or permitted under this subtitle. Each State agency and third party participating in such inter-agency transfers of information shall facilitate and comply with such policies.
Nothing in this subparagraph shall prevent a source agency under section 111 from establishing and enforcing additional security measures to protect the confidentiality and integrity of inter-agency data transfers. No State or local election official shall transfer or facilitate the transfer of information from the computerized Statewide voter registration list to any source agency under section 111. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent a source agency under section 111 from contracting with a third party to assist in the transmission of data to a chief State election official, so long as the data transmission complies with the applicable requirements of this subtitle, including the privacy and security provisions of this section.
The chief State election official of a State shall establish standards and procedures to maintain all election records required for purposes of this subtitle, including for the purpose of determining the eligibility of persons casting provisional ballots under section 302 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002. Records for individuals who have been retained on the computerized Statewide voter registration list under section 301 of such Act but identified as ineligible to vote in an election for Federal office within the State, or removed from the list due to ineligibility, shall be maintained and kept available until at least the date of the second general election for Federal office that occurs after the date that the individual was identified as ineligible.
The chief State election official of a State shall publish on the official’s website the standards established under this section, and shall make those standards available in written form upon public request. The identity of the specific source agency through which an individual consented to register to vote under section 111 shall not be disclosed to the public and shall not be retained after the individual is added to the computerized Statewide voter registration list. The chief State election official of a State shall establish policies and enforcement procedures to ensure that personal information provided by source agencies or otherwise transmitted under this section is kept confidential and is available only to authorized users.
For purposes of these policies and procedures, the term personal information means any of the following: Any portion of an individual’s Social Security number. Any portion of an individual’s motor vehicle driver’s license number or State identification card number. An individual’s signature. An individual’s personal residence and contact information (in the case of individuals with respect to whom such information is required to be maintained as confidential under State law).
Sensitive information relating to persons in categories designated confidential by Federal or State law, including victims of domestic violence or stalking, prosecutors and law enforcement personnel, and participants in a witness protection program. An individual’s phone number. An individual’s e-mail address. Any indication of an individual’s status as a citizen or noncitizen of the United States. Such other information as the chief State election official may designate as confidential to the extent reasonably necessary to prevent identity theft or impersonation, except that the chief State election official may not designate as confidential under this subparagraph the name, address, or date of registration of an individual, or, where applicable, the self-identified racial or ethnic category of the individual as applicable under Revisions to OMB Directive Number 15 or successor directives.
If an individual who is not eligible to register to vote in elections for Federal office is registered to vote in such elections by a chief State election official under section 111, the individual shall not be subject to any penalty, including the imposition of a fine or term of imprisonment, adverse treatment in any immigration or naturalization proceeding, or the denial of any status under immigration laws, under any law prohibiting an individual who is not eligible to register to vote in elections for Federal office from registering to vote in such elections.
Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to waive the liability of any individual who knowingly provides false information to any person regarding the individual’s eligibility to register to vote or vote in elections for Federal office. No person acting under color of law may use the information received by the chief State election official under section 111 to attempt to determine the citizenship status of any individual for immigration enforcement, criminal law enforcement (other than enforcement of election laws), or any purpose other than voter registration, election administration, or the enforcement of election laws.
No source agency shall transmit any information under section 111 which is irrelevant to the administration of elections. To the extent that an election official receives any information which is accidentally or inadvertently transferred by a source agency under such section, the official shall immediately delete the information from the official’s records. No information relating to an individual’s absence from the Statewide voter registration list under section 303 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 or an individual’s declination to supply information for voter registration purposes to a source agency under section 111 may be disclosed to the public for immigration enforcement, criminal law enforcement other than enforcement of laws against election crimes, or used for any purpose other than voter registration, election administration, or the enforcement of election laws.
No person acting under color of law may discriminate against any individual on the basis of the individual’s absence from the statewide voter registration list, the information supplied by the individual for voter registration purpose to a source agency under section 111, or the individual’s declination to supply such information, except as required for purposes of voter registration, election administration, and the enforcement of election laws. Voter registration information collected under this subtitle shall not be used for commercial purposes including for comparison with any existing commercial list or database.
Whoever knowingly uses information or permits information to be used in violation of this section shall be imprisoned for not more than 1 year, fined under title 18, United States Code, or both. The chief State election official of a State shall ensure that, with respect to any individual who declines the opportunity to register to vote under section 111, the individual’s information is not included on the computerized Statewide voter registration list under section 303 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 and is not provided to any third party (except to the extent required under other law).
Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to preclude an individual who has previously declined the opportunity to register to vote from subsequently registering to vote.