Election Special Notice Card Errors
What options might we consider that "could" help clean up the rolls fast?
Hey everyone, the Department of Elections (DOE) just sent out “Election Special Notice” cards. Woo-hoo! Wait! Uh-oh, let’s say you just got one or more of those cards in your mail and it is addressed to a person(s) who doesn’t live at your address. It could be a son or daughter who are no longer there, or someone you don’t even know. One such card is shown above. If you get that kind of a card, what are some options you may want to consider to try to get the situation corrected, and thereby reduce the chances of anyone ever being accused of an election fraud situation associated with your address.
Option 1. Do what the Card Suggests? The card suggests that you write “Not at this Address” across the top and drop it back in the mail box. I WOULD RECOMMEND YOU NOT DO THIS….. or at least not do just this. Why?
This action will “likely” result in the DOE implementing what is generically referred to as “The Post Card Process”. That is covered under Section 1704 of Title 15. That and all other code references in this article are shown at the link here:
https://delcode.delaware.gov/title15/c017/index.html
While it can yield some near term results, it can also take over 4 years to get an error corrected on the voter rolls.
Option #2: Fill out a form, and then email that to the DOE: As a fellow citizen and acting only in that capacity, I would recommend doing this option 2.
Why? If the DOE or Board of Elections (BOE) gets one of the forms they “may” be able to correct the voter roll immediately. A link to download 3 forms is provided here: Three Forms. An actual “Form 3” that was submitted to the DOE along with a copy of the “Error Card” is shown below.
The submission got a response from the DOE. At this point I am not sure as to whether the response is appropriate or not. The response with my comments and one concern are presented below. If after sending form 3, you get a similar response I would suggest you do Option #1 too! Maybe two chances to get corrections.
Why might we get a faster and more correct response if one of the three forms is appropriate? We can see this by looking at brief description of the forms and reviewing certain sections of the code.
Form 1: Registrant Form: A registrant, under section 1707 of the code may provide permission to have his or her name removed from the voter roll. Form 1, created by the State provides a convenient means for a registrant to provide written notice and communicate that permission. If you know the person formerly residing at your residence you may want to forward this form to them and let them address the situation, however, if they take no action, there still may be an error on the voter roll associated with your residence.
Form 2: The Close Relative Form: Under sections 1705 and 1707, a spouse, adult child, sibling or parent (Close Relatives) may provide written notice to report an out of state move or death. Form #2 created by the State provides a convenient means for these Close Relatives to provide that written notice.
Form 3: Non-Relative Form: Under sections 1702, the Board of Elections, given a valid reason, may remove a registrant’s name from the voter roll. Under section 1708 a DOE employee with approval of a supervisor may “correct errors” in the voter rolls. Unfortunately the State has not provided a form that would conveniently facilitate a citizen with means of providing written notice to the DOE or BOE that such situations exist, such as the incorrect address/ name combination the DOE has memorialized on the special notice cards. While no “form” is required to provide a written notice, I have created form 3 to hopefully facilitate such communication.
(Note: I was not able to find explicit references in this section of the code to classifications other than the stated “Close Relatives” and “Registrant”. However, under section 1707 and using Form 1, a former resident could unilaterally act to have his name quickly removed from the voter roll. Now, regarding residency, is there anyone who would argue that current owner / occupant, citizen resident has a lesser right than the former occupant to provide written notice that that the former resident name is no longer a resident at that address and have that situation corrected quickly?)
Additional Information and Survey:
I did more research on the particular name and became more concerned what my findings may reveal about our election systems. Maybe I am overly concerned. I would like to know what you think.
1. Fast People Search: This source showed a person of the same name, and of the same age, and having a reference phone number the same as the one on the Delaware voter roll. This source indicates the person has a current address in PA.
2. The PA Voter Roll: The State of Pennsylvania, provides “notification” to the world, which includes Delaware, as to who is registered to vote in PA. It does this by publishing its voter rolls. This information is available for $20. A volunteer cross referenced information on the DE voter rolls to that on the PA rolls.
The PA rolls show a person of same name and age as registered to vote in PA. While the “PA Registration Address” does not agree with the persons “Current Address” as reported in reference 1, it does agree with a prior PA address reported in reference 1. The PA voter roll shows a PA registration date in 2016, and a vote in 2020.
3. Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC). Delaware and Pennsylvania are members of this organization. This organization states that it provides member states with “list maintenance reports” one of which is a Cross State Movers Report: which utilizes voter registration data, and MVD data.
Citizen Survey: What do you think?
If you want to reply, you don’t need to fill out the form if you don’t want you could just send me an email with the 3 answers to dlesher3@comcast.net. That’s all for this post. Thank you for reading and your consideration regarding the recommendations for cleaning up the voter rolls.