VIII. Certification September 2021 8.017 - 1 8.017 - Voter Registration National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) (1973), Pub L, 103 931 §7(a)(5); DC Official Code § 1-1001.07; 11 CFR 8.2; 11CFR 8.3(c), and 7 CFR 246. I. Policy Statement LA staff shall provide each applicant, participant, or - in the case of infants and children – authorized representatives (ARs) the opportunity to register to vote:

• With each application for Certification or Recertification • With each transfer, including a change of address • When the participant or AR reports a change of address

LA staff providing voter registration assistance shall not:

• Seek to influence an applicant’s or participant’s or AR’s political preference or party registration • Wear or display any material that o Identifies past, present, or future seekers of partisan elective office o Contains logos or other graphics that may be identified with a political party or preference o Would reasonably be associated with a political party or preference o Identifies a political issue or ballot measure • Make any statement to an applicant, participant, or AR or take any action, the purpose or effect of which is to discourage the applicant from registering to vote

LA Staff shall advise applicants, participants, or ARs that: • The voter registration process is separate from the WIC Program eligibility process • An interview is not necessary to register to vote

LA Staff shall ensure the confidentiality of the Voter Registration process

LA Staff shall complete training developed by the State Agency upon hire and annually thereafter.

II. Voter Registration Procedures

LA Staff will follow use the following procedure when offering an applicant, participant, or AR the opportunity to register to vote:

1. Ask the applicant, participant, or AR if they are registered to vote at their current address a. If they say “yes” – document in HANDS b. If they say “no” – go to step 2

2. Ask the applicant, participant, or AR if they are interested in registering to vote today. Inform them that they can complete the voter registration form at the clinic or they may take it with them and mail it in later (postage is paid). Also inform them that applying/denying to register to vote will not affect their application or enrollment in DC WIC.

VIII. Certification September 2021 8.017 - 2 a. If they say “no” – document in HANDS record. If the applicant does not provide a reason for saying no, staff may use their best judgment in whether or not to probe for why the applicant is not interested in registering to vote. Staff may select “not interested”, or “not yet 18” in the HANDS record. b. If they say “yes” and want to complete the form later – provide a physical copy of the form and/or show the applicant a link or QR code to where they can find the voter registration form online. Document using “refused, gave form” in HANDS record. Using this code will help DC WIC identify between participants who were not interested in registering to vote and those who were interested but did not do so on site. c. If they say “yes” and want to complete the form onsite – see step 3

3. Provide the applicant with a DC Voter Registration Form to complete. Staff shall also inform the applicant, participant, or AR of the availability of the Federal Voter Registration Form. a. Staff will assist the applicant, participant, or AR when requested. Assistance provided shall be to the degree that assistance is provided for completing a WIC form. b. When the client has completed the voter registration form, review it completely to ensure that it contains all of the information required for voter registration, including the applicant’s signature. c. Inform the client that you will send the voter registration form to the DC Board of Elections (DCBOE) and that they should receive their voter registration card within three weeks if the form was accepted. If they do not receive their voter registration card within three weeks, they should contact DCBOE. d. Mail the voter registration form to DCBOE within five (5) calendar days i. LA Best Practice: Mail voter registration forms the day they are completed, or store them in a secure location and mail any collected forms on Friday morning each week.

III. HANDS Documentation

LA staff shall indicate in the Voter Registration field in HANDS the response given by the applicant, participant, or AR either. HANDS will not allow a certification appointment to be completed until Voter Registration status has been documented. The following table lists HANDS documentation codes for Voter Registration, and when to use them:

Code Explanation When to Use CR Currently Registered If client states they are registered already at their current address NO Not Interested If client is not currently registered and does not want to register NA Not yet 18 years of age If client is under 18 years old and is not eligible to register RG Refused, gave form If client took a form home with them or said they would register online YG Yes, Gave Form If client completed form onsite and LA staff mailed it to DCBOE

VIII. Certification September 2021 8.017 - 3 IV. State Agency Responsibilities

The DC WIC State Agency will assume the responsibilities of both the “Voter Registration Site Coordinator” and the “Voter Registration Agency Coordinator”. The HANDS MIS allows the State Agency to pull reports for each LA, by clinic site, on certification appointments and voter registration indication. The State Agency will use such reports to chart the following information on a monthly basis for reporting to DCBOE:

LA 1 LA 2 LA 3 LA 4 Total # Certification appointments

# Clients currently registered (CR)

# Clients not interested (NO)

# Clients not yet 18 (NA)

# Clients took form offsite (RG)

# Clients completed form onsite (YG)