1. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
11/15/2018
TEAM
Best Practices for Voter Registration
2016
11/15/2018
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

2. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
11/15/2018
Finding The Right Voter
The goal of the Voter Registrar is to ensure the accuracy and integrity of the voter roll. Part of that includes one of the following when processing a voter registration application:
Registering a new voter (if the voter is not currently in the system)
Updating an existing voter (if the application being processed is identified to be the same voter as a voter currently registered in the county working the application)
Transferring an existing voter, (if the application being processed is identified to be the same voter as a voter currently registered in a different county, which has an older EDR)
11/15/2018
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

3. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
11/15/2018
Finding The Right Voter
In determining whether to select a current voter to transfer/update or register a new voter, there are several items that should be taken into consideration:
Application Review
Matching Criteria
(used for identifying when to Update, Transfer or register a New Voter)
Best Practices for Registering Voters
11/15/2018
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

4. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
11/15/2018
VR Checklist
Questions to ask when reviewing and processing the application:
Is this a complete application?
Does the Voter have a matching record within your county?
Does this voter have a record in another county?
If so, is it a strong match based on the matching criteria? (Transfer Immediately)
If not a strong match, is there enough information (unique identifiers or other information) to positively identify it as the same voter?
Is this a new voter to the system?
11/15/2018
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

5. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
11/15/2018
Application Review
Application Review: Is this application complete?
A complete application will display the following information:
Name (minimum Last & First)
Date of Birth
Residential Address (may be parcel address)
U.S. Citizenship box checked “yes”
Texas Driver’s License or State Identification Number, or four digits of the social security number (may have 9) or the box checked that the applicant does not have either of the forms of identification required
Be signed by the voter (or agent)
Be on the correct form
REMEMBER: If there is no TDL/ID number provided, then the SSN must be provided. If the applicant has neither a TDL/ID or SSN, then the box should be checked indicating they have neither form of identification.
A Notice of Incomplete will then be automatically generated and sent to the Batch screen.
11/15/2018
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

6. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
11/15/2018
Matching Criteria
Once the application is determined to be complete, the voter registrar will use Matching Criteria to process the application.
When processing an application, the voter registrar is responsible for making sure all records entered in the redeveloped system, either
Accurately match an existing record using unique voter identifiers, or
If the voter is not currently in the system, create a new record.
11/15/2018
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

7. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
11/15/2018
Matching Criteria Cont.
What are unique identifiers?
SSN, TDL/ID, or in some cases VUID numbers
What other identifiers are used for matching?
DOB, First Name, Last Name, even residential address may be used; when trying to identify the voter.
11/15/2018
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

8. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
11/15/2018
Matching Criteria Cont.
ONCE UPON A TIME…
The legacy system used Matching Criteria to determine if the person being registered already existed in TEAM.
NOW…
In TEAM’s redeveloped system, it is the Voter Registrar that must determine the match (if any) by having a working knowledge of Matching Criteria.
11/15/2018
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

9. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
11/15/2018
Matching Criteria
Using Matching Criteria, the Voter Registrar will evaluate the application and compare it to voters in the statewide database to see if any of the potential matches presented during the registration process are the same person as the application being worked. For any potential match identified by the system, evaluate whether it is a:
STRONG MATCH
WEAK MATCH or
NOT A MATCH/MATCH IS UNCERTAIN
NOTE: Focus on matching Unique Voter Identifiers.
11/15/2018
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

10. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
11/15/2018
Matching Criteria Cont.
Strong matches need to have multiple identifiers, including a unique identifier, matching the VR application (if a voter record currently exist in TEAM).
Weak Matches should be updated or transferred only if/when the voter registrar is able to positively identify it is the same person.
11/15/2018
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

11. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
11/15/2018
Matching Criteria Cont.
The following Matching Criteria can be used to identify if/when the voter is the same person:
Strong Matching Criteria:
Last/Former Name, First Name, SSN (9 digits)
Last/Former Name, First Name, TDL#
Last/Former Name, First Name, SSN (4 digits) and DOB
A match in the same county should result in the VR updating the voter record (through the Change Voter Screen).
If there is a match in a different county, the VR should transfer the voter if the registrar has the most recent application (through the transfer voter screen).
11/15/2018
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

12. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
11/15/2018
Matching Criteria Cont.
The following Matching Criteria can be used to identify if/when the voter is the same person:
Weak Duplicate Criteria
Last Name, First Name and 4 digit SSN
TDL only
A weak match should be evaluated to confirm it is in fact the same person before transferring (moving) the record from the current county into your county.
Confirm a match by focusing on
Personal Data (Last name, First name, Date of Birth, Address)
and
Identification Numbers (SSN, TDL, TID, VUIDs)
11/15/2018
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

13. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
11/15/2018
Matching Criteria Cont.
REMINDER
Weak Matches should be updated or transferred ONLY IF/WHEN the voter registrar is able to positively identify it is the same person. The Identification is made with the help of “Personal Data” and “Identification Numbers”.
Personal Data
DOB, First Name, Last Name, even residential address may be used when trying to identify the voter.
Identification Numbers
SSN, TDL/ID, or in some cases VUID numbers.
11/15/2018
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

14. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
11/15/2018
Best Practices
Choose to add “New Voter” if/when unable to positively match application to an existing registered voter record by using matching criteria, personal data, and unique identifiers.
Only update the “Registration Date” when entering an update initiated by the voter using a new application or when performing an EDR correction. Do not update the registration date when cancelling the voter.
When dealing with last name changes verify the voter is the same before updating/changing the name on the voter record.
11/15/2018
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

15. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
11/15/2018
Best Practices
Only update/transfer a 01/01/1900 Date of Birth if able to positively identify the person is the same.
Update Identifiers (SSN/TDL) only if information is different from current voter record. Example:
If the TDL/ID on the voter application is different from the TDL/ID on the voter record (registrar in the scenario identified the same person through the full nine of SSN), then the registrar would update the TDL/ID.
If the voter record has a 9 digit SSN and the voter provides only the last 4 that match the last 4 already on file, the registrar would NOT update the SSN.
11/15/2018
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

16. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
11/15/2018
Updates/ Changes to Voter Record
Updates/Changes to a voter application happen when:
A voter changes information within his/her current county
A name change (including former name change) occurs. (Voter will need to provide request of the name change in writing.)
Date of birth update from 01/01/1900 to their correct date
Note: If re-registering a cancelled record in your county, there must be a second step that includes an EDR Correction
Please take your pen and cross the NOTE section out. This no longer applies because in the new system when re-registering a voter the system automatically updates the EDR.
So if re-registering a cancelled voter then process like a normal app. If re-instating do a source code override.
11/15/2018
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

17. Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
11/15/2018
Transfer Voter
NOTES ON TRANSFERS
When to Transfer a Voter?
Transfers can occur for active, suspense, and cancelled voter records.
If more than one record is found always select the active or suspense.
Note: Cancelled records can be selected. If the voter is cancelled due to Non-Citizen, the registrar may choose to challenge the registration.
11/15/2018
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division
Texas Secretary of State Elections Division