24.2-114 - Duties and powers of general registrar.
§ 24.2-114. Duties and powers of general registrar.
In addition to the other duties required by this title, the generalregistrar, and the assistant registrars acting under his supervision, shall:
1. Maintain the office of the general registrar and establish and maintainadditional public places for voter registration in accordance with theprovisions of § 24.2-412.
2. Participate in programs to educate the general public concerningregistration and encourage registration by the general public. No registrarshall actively solicit, in a selective manner, any application forregistration or for a ballot or offer anything of value for any suchapplication.
3. Perform his duties within the county or city he was appointed to serve,except that a registrar may (i) go into a county or city in the Commonwealthcontiguous to his county or city to register voters of his county or citywhen conducting registration jointly with the registrar of the contiguouscounty or city or (ii) notwithstanding any other provision of law,participate in multijurisdictional staffing for voter registration offices,approved by the State Board, that are located at facilities of the Departmentof Motor Vehicles.
4. Provide the appropriate forms for applications to register and to obtainthe information necessary to complete the applications pursuant to theprovisions of the Constitution of Virginia and general law.
5. Indicate on the registration records for each accepted mail voterregistration application form returned by mail pursuant to Article 3.1 (§24.2-416.1 et seq.) of Chapter 4 that the registrant has registered by mail.The general registrar shall fulfill this duty in accordance with theinstructions of the State Board so that those persons who registered by mailare identified on the registration records, lists of registered votersfurnished pursuant to § 24.2-405, lists of persons who voted furnishedpursuant to § 24.2-406, and pollbooks used for the conduct of elections.
6. Accept a registration application or request for transfer or change ofaddress submitted by or for a resident of any other county or city in theCommonwealth. Registrars shall process registration applications and requestsfor transfer or change of address from residents of other counties and citiesin accordance with written instructions from the State Board and shallforward the completed application or request to the registrar of theapplicant's residence. Notwithstanding the provisions of § 24.2-416, theregistrar of the applicant's residence shall recognize as timely anyapplication or request for transfer or change of address submitted to anyperson authorized to receive voter registration applications pursuant toChapter 4 (§ 24.2-400 et seq.), prior to or on the final day of registration.The registrar of the applicant's residence shall determine the qualificationof the applicant and promptly notify the applicant at the address shown onthe application or request of the acceptance or denial of his registration ortransfer. However, notification shall not be required when the registrar doesnot have an address for the applicant.
7. Preserve order at and in the vicinity of the place of registration. Forthis purpose, the registrar shall be vested with the powers of a conservatorof the peace while engaged in the duties imposed by law. He may exclude fromthe place of registration persons whose presence disturbs the registrationprocess. He may appoint special officers, not exceeding three in number, fora place of registration and may summon persons in the vicinity to assistwhenever, in his judgment, it is necessary to preserve order. The generalregistrar and any assistant registrar shall be authorized to administer oathsfor purposes of this title.
8. Maintain the official registration records for his county or city in thesystem approved by, and in accordance with the instructions of, the StateBoard; preserve the written applications of all persons who are registered;and preserve for a period of four years the written applications of allpersons who are denied registration or whose registration is cancelled.
9. If a person is denied registration, promptly notify such person in writingof the denial and the reason for denial in accordance with § 24.2-422.
10. (Effective until November 1, 2010) Verify the accuracy of the pollbooksprovided for each election by the State Board, make the pollbooks availableto the precincts, and according to the instructions of the State Board returnthe pollbooks, or transfer a copy of the data from any electronic pollbooks,to the State Board after each election for voting credit purposes.
10. (Effective November 1, 2010) Verify the accuracy of the pollbooksprovided for each election by the State Board, make the pollbooks availableto the precincts, and according to the instructions of the State Boardprovide a copy of the data from the pollbooks to the State Board after eachelection for voting credit purposes.
11. (Effective until November 1, 2010) After the return of the pollbooks bythe State Board, retain the pollbooks in his principal office for two yearsfrom the date of the election.
11. (Effective November 1, 2010) Retain the pollbooks in his principal officefor two years from the date of the election.
12. Maintain accurate and current registration records and comply with therequirements of this title for the transfer, inactivation, and cancellationof voter registrations.
13. Whenever election districts, precincts, or polling places are altered,provide for entry into the voter registration system of the proper districtand precinct designations for each registered voter whose districts orprecinct have changed and notify each affected voter of changes affecting hisdistricts or polling place by mail.
14. Whenever any part of his county or city becomes part of anotherjurisdiction by annexation, merger, or other means, transfer to theappropriate general registrar the registration records of the affectedregistered voters. The general registrar for their new county or city shallnotify them by mail of the transfer and their new election districts andpolling places.
15. When he registers any person who was previously registered in anotherstate, notify the appropriate authority in that state of the person'sregistration in Virginia.
16. Whenever any person is believed to be registered or voting in more thanone state or territory of the United States at the same time, inquire about,or provide information from the voter's registration and voting records toany appropriate voter registration or other authority of another state orterritory who inquires about, that person's registration and voting history.
17. At the request of the county or city chairman of any political partynominating a candidate for the General Assembly, constitutional office, orlocal office by a method other than a primary, review any petition requiredby the party in its nomination process to determine whether those signing thepetition are registered voters with active status.
18. Carry out such other duties as prescribed by the electoral board.
19. Attend, or designate one member of his staff to attend, an annualtraining program provided by the State Board.
(Code 1950, §§ 24-59, 24-60, 24-60.1, 24-71 through 24-73, 24-90, 24-93,24-94, 24-101, 24-111, 24-115, 24-118; 1950, p. 381; 1958, c. 576; 1962, cc.422, 536; 1968, c. 143; 1970, c. 462, §§ 24.1-46, 24.1-54, 24.1-68; 1972, c.620; 1973, c. 30; 1974, c. 428; 1976, c. 616; 1979, c. 329; 1980, c. 639;1982, c. 650; 1983, c. 398; 1984, c. 480; 1986, c. 558; 1990, c. 193; 1993,c. 641; 1996, cc. 72, 73; 1998, c. 354; 2000, cc. 512, 556, 857; 2003, c.1015; 2005, c. 380; 2010, c. 812.)