Know Your Voting Rights; Guide to Federal Voting Rights Laws

Know Your
Voting Rights
Your Guide to Federal
Voting Rights Laws

Inside this Guide
Voting 101 	1
Protecting Your Right to Vote 	1
Voter Registration 	3
Voting Overseas 	7
Voting with Limited
English Proficiency 	8
Voting with a Disability 	9
Reporting a Violation 	10
Additional Resources 	11

Voting 101
Who runs	elections in my state?
State and local election officials.	They run
local, state, and federal elections, including for
Congress and for the Presidency.
If you want to know how	you can votein your
state,	you should contact those	officials
because the rules are different in different
states.
You can find more information about your
state’s rules and the contact information for
election officials at vote.gov.
Protecting Your Right
to Vote
Does federal law protect my
right to vote?
Yes.The Civil Rights Division of the U.S.
Department of Justice	enforces	these laws.
Often, people whose rights have been violated
can also bring private lawsuits.
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Does federal law protect against
discrimination in voting?
Yes.Here are two of the most important
federal laws for protecting voters against
discrimination.
The	first law is	the	Voting Rights Act,	or
“VRA.”	Section 2 of the	VRA makes it illegal
to	deny	or restrict voting rights because
of a citizen’s race	or color. It also	outlaws
discrimination against citizens who are
members	of a language minority group,	which
the	VRA defines as including American Indian,
Asian American, Alaskan Native,	or Latino
persons.
Under Section 2, state and local governments
cannot use voting practices or election rules
that are intentionally	discriminatory. Nor
can they use practices	or rules	that result in
citizens who belong to a particular race or
language minority group having less	of an
opportunity	than everyone	else	to	vote and
elect the public	officials	they	want.
The second law is	the Americans	with
Disabilities Act.	Title II of that law requires
state and local governments	to make sure	that
people with disabilities have a full and equal
chance	to	vote. Like Section 2 of the	VRA,
this law applies	to all aspects	of voting. This
includes registering to vote, getting into polling
places, and casting a ballot, both on Election
Day and during early	voting. You can find more
information at ada.gov.
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Do federal laws protect against
voter intimidation?
Yes.There are civil and criminal federal
statutes	that make it illegal to intimidate,
threaten or coerce someone for voting or
attempting to vote, as well as federal statutes
that make it illegal to intimidate,	threaten or
coerce people who are urging or helping others
to vote.
The civil statutes include the Civil Rights Act
of 1957 and the	Voting Rights Act. The	criminal
statutes appear in several Titles	of the U.S. Code.
Voter Registration
Where	can I register to	vote?
The National Voter Registration Act requires
most states (all but Idaho, Minnesota, New
Hampshire, North Dakota,	Wisconsin, and
Wyoming) to let you register to	vote by using
the mail.
It also requires	those same 44 states	to let you
register to vote through various government
offices. Some	examples are	offices	that provide
driver licenses, public assistance,	or disability
services, and Armed Forces recruitment
offices. Your state may also	offer otherways
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to register, such as at elections	offices,	voter
registration events, a polling place, through the
mail,	or online.
If you’re	eligible	to register, states must
let you vote in a federal election as long as
your registration application is postmarked
or received by	the right office at least 30
days before	that election. In some states,
the deadline is even closer to the election;
and some	other states permit Election Day
registration.
Please	check your state’s	elections	website for
specificinformation about the requirements
and deadlines. You can find that website by
going to vote.gov.
When can I be	taken off the	voter
registration list?
Under Section 8 of the National Voter
Registration Act,	officials	can take	you off the
voter registration list for federal elections if
you ask them to,	or if you die.
You can also be	taken off the list if you move
away, as long as	officials follow	the NVRA’s
rules about notice and timing. You cannot
be removed from the registration list solely
because	you did not vote in an election. But you
can be	taken off if you do not answer a notice
asking you to	confirm whether you have moved,
and then you do not vote	within the next two
federal election cycles.
Many states	will also	take	you off the list if you
are convicted of certain crimes or judged to be
mentally incapacitated.
4

Can I vote if I moved and forgot
to update my	voter registration
address?
It depends.	Suppose	you moved within an
area covered by	the samepolling place (for
example,	you just moved down the block). Then
the National Voter Registration Act allows	you
to	vote at that polling place. But you should
update	your address	with election officials
(which you can do at the polling place	when you
vote) so	that it is	correct for future	elections.
Suppose	you moved to an address	that has a
different polling place,but you still live	within
the same registrar’s jurisdiction (for example,
somewhere in the same	city) and the same
Congressional district. Then you may	vote at
your old polling place. And in some states,
you may also be allowed to	vote at your new
polling place or a central location, such as the
registrar’s	office, instead of your old polling
place. Again,	you should update	your address
with election officials (which you can do at the
polling place	when you vote) so	that it is	correct
for future	elections.
Suppose	you have not moved, but the
registration records incorrectly say	that you
have. Then you have	the right to	vote at your
polling place	once	you affirm that you continue
to live	where	you were registered.
Please	check your state’s	elections	website
for information regarding your proper polling
place. You can find that website by going to
vote.gov.
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Finally, federal law protects	your right to	vote
in presidential elections if you moved shortly
before Election Day	or if you are	out of state	on
Election Day. This right is protected by Section
202 of the	Voting Rights Act.
What if I registered to vote
but my name is not listed in
the poll book?
In most states,	you can get a “provisional
ballot”	to	vote in federal elections after you
assert that you are registered and eligible.
Section 302 of the Help America Vote Act sets
out some rules about this. You may also be
offered a provisional ballot if an election official
asserts	you are not eligible	to	vote.
State laws may provide	other reasons for giving
you a provisional ballot—for example, if you do
not bring the state’s required ID when you go	to
vote (in a state	that requires showing ID to	vote)
or if you have already been sent an absentee
ballot.
To	vote	with a provisional ballot,	you must sign
a written affirmation. Your completed ballot will
then be held separately from the regular ballots
until an election official determines	whether it
should be	counted. You must be given written
instructions about how	to	find out if your ballot
was counted, and if it was not counted, the
reason why. Under state law,	you may also have
to provide additional information by a specific
date for your ballot to be	counted.
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Voting Overseas
Can I vote if I am away	on active
duty	or living overseas?
Yes. If you would be	eligible	to	vote if you were
living in the U.S.,	the Uniformed and Overseas
Citizens Absentee	Voting Act protects	your right
to register and vote absentee in federal elections.
This law protects citizens who are in the
military	or the merchant marine and who
are serving on active	duty away from home,
whether theyare serving overseas	or within
the U.S. It also protects	their eligible family
members	who are away from home because	of
that service. And it protects	the	voting rights	of
United States	citizens	who live	overseas.
For federal elections,	you may register to
vote and request an absentee ballot at the
same	time by using the Federal Post Card
Application. You may request to receive	your
absentee ballot either by mail or electronically.
You can also use a back-up Federal Write-In
Absentee Ballot if you have made a timely
application for, but have not received,	your
absentee ballot.
For more information, visit the Federal Voting
Assistance Program website at fvap.gov	and
the Civil Rights Division’s website at justice.
gov/crt/uniformed-and-overseas-citizens-
absentee-voting-act.
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Voting with Limited
English Proficiency
Which federal laws protect voters
with limited English proficiency?
Section 208 of the	Voting Rights Act allows
voters	who have	difficulty reading (for example,
because	their English is limited) to get help
with the	voting process from someone	they
choose. But that person cannot be	the	voter’s
employer or an official from the	voter’s union.
Section 4(e) of the	VRA prohibits	election officials
from conditioning the right to vote on a citizen’s
ability	to read,	write,	or understand English. The
statute protects voters who completed at least
the sixth grade in American-flag schools	where
the classes were taught in a language other than
English. For example,	this law applies	to	citizens
who went to a public school in Puerto Rico and
were	taught in Spanish.
Also, Section 203 of the	VRA requires places
where	there are a sufficient number of
language minority	voters	to provide	election
materials and assistance in other languages.
Every	five	years,	the U.S. Census Bureau
identifies	the places	where	this is required and
what languages	they must use.
You can find the	current list of these locations
at census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-
census/about/voting-rights.html
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Section 301 of the Help America VoteAct
requires	thosejurisdictions’	voting systems	to
be accessible in the same languages.
Voting with a Disability
Which federal laws protect voters
with disabilities?
Title II of the Americans	with Disabilities Act
requires state and local governments	to make
sure	that people	with disabilities have a full
and equal chance	to	vote.
This law applies	to all aspects	of voting. This
includes voter registration, getting into polling
places, and casting a ballot, both on Election
Day and during early	voting.
The Help America Vote Act has rules about
polling places for federal elections. Each
polling place must have at least one voting
system that allows people	with disabilities	to
cast their ballot independently and privately.
Section 208 of the	Voting Rights Act allows
voters with disabilities to get help with the
voting process from someone	they	choose. But
that person cannot be	the	voter’s	employer or an
official from the	voter’s union.
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Reporting a Violation
How do I report a possible violation
of the federal voting rights laws?
Report possible	civil rights	violations	to	the
Civil Rights Division.
You can do this:
• 	online at civilrights.justice.gov or
• 	by	telephone at (800) 253-3931
Report possible federal crimes, such as
concerns about threats against voters,	threats
against elections	officials,	or election fraud,	to
the FBI.
You can do this:
• 	online at tips.fbi.gov	or
• 	by	telephone at 800-CALL-FBI
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Additional Resources
Where	can I find more information
about how federal law protects
my right to	vote?
You can find more information on the Civil
Rights Division’s	website.
• 	The	Voting Section’s	website is available
at justice.gov/crt/voting-section.
• 	The Disability Rights Section’s	website
about the Americans with Disabilities Act
is available at ada.gov.
Additional information and resources
concerning voting can be found at
justice.gov/voting and at vote.gov.
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justice.gov/voting