32-308. Registration list; verification; voter registration application; Department of Motor Vehicles; duties; registration; when; confidentiality; persons involved in registration; status.

(1) The Secretary of State and the Director of Motor Vehicles shall enter into an agreement to match information in the computerized statewide voter registration list with information in the database of the Department of Motor Vehicles to the extent required to enable each such official to verify the accuracy of the information, including citizenship, provided on applications for voter registration. The Director of Motor Vehicles shall enter into an agreement with the Commissioner of Social Security under section 205(r)(8) of the federal Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. 405(r)(8), as such section existed on April 17, 2003, for purposes of the Election Act.

(2) The Department of Motor Vehicles, with the assistance of the Secretary of State, shall prescribe a voter registration application which may be used to register to vote or change his or her address for voting purposes at the same time an elector applies for an original or renewal motor vehicle operator's license, an original or renewal state identification card, or a replacement thereof. The voter registration application shall contain the information required pursuant to section 32-312 and shall be designed so that it does not require the duplication of information in the application for the motor vehicle operator's license or state identification card, except that it may require a second signature of the applicant. The department and the Secretary of State shall make the voter registration application available to any person applying for an operator's license or state identification card. The application shall be completed at the office of the department by the close of business on the third Friday preceding any election to be registered to vote at such election. A registration application received after the deadline shall not be processed by the election commissioner or county clerk until after the election.

(3) The Department of Motor Vehicles, in conjunction with the Secretary of State, shall develop a process to electronically transmit voter registration application information received under subsection (2) of this section to the election commissioner or county clerk of the county in which the applicant resides within the time limits prescribed in subsection (4) of this section. The Director of Motor Vehicles shall designate an implementation date for the process which shall be on or before January 1, 2016.

(4) The voter registration application information shall be transmitted to the election commissioner or county clerk of the county in which the applicant resides not later than ten days after receipt, except that if the voter registration application information is received within five days prior to the third Friday preceding any election, it shall be transmitted not later than five days after its original submission. Any information on whether an applicant registers or declines to register and the location of the office at which he or she registers shall be confidential and shall only be used for voter registration purposes.

(5) For each voter registration application for which information is transmitted electronically pursuant to this section, the Secretary of State shall obtain a copy of the electronic representation of the applicant's signature from the Department of Motor Vehicles' records of his or her motor vehicle operator's license or state identification card for purposes of voter registration. Each voter registration application electronically transmitted under this section shall include information provided by the applicant that includes whether the applicant is a citizen of the United States, whether the applicant is of sufficient age to register to vote, the applicant's residence address, the applicant's postal address if different from the residence address, the date of birth of the applicant, the party affiliation of the applicant or an indication that the applicant is not affiliated with any political party, the applicant's motor vehicle operator's license number, the applicant's previous registration location by city, county, or state, if applicable, and the applicant's signature.

(6) State agency personnel involved in the voter registration process pursuant to this section and section 32-309 shall not be considered deputy registrars or agents or employees of the election commissioner or county clerk.

Source:Laws 1994, LB 76, § 70; Laws 1997, LB 764, § 32; Laws 2003, LB 357, § 6; Laws 2005, LB 566, § 7; Laws 2014, LB661, § 4; Laws 2014, LB777, § 1; Laws 2023, LB514, § 6.
Operative Date: June 2, 2023