9 NYCRR Part 6217 - Executive Department

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Source versions current through Mar 31, 2022 - Apr 15, 2022 across sections

Sections in this Part carry different compiled dates; each section shows its own.

9 NYCRR 6217.1 - Purpose

Source version current through Mar 31, 2022

Later State Register activity may affect this section.

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Dates and status

NYCRR title agency: Executive Department
Section status: Section source receipt
Source version current through: Mar 31, 2022

(a)Pursuant to New York Election Law, section 5-614, the State Board of Elections (State Board) hereby adopts the following regulations in relation to the operation of the statewide voter registration list to be known as NYSVoter.

(b)NYSVoter shall serve as the single, interactive, statewide voter registration list for storing and managing the official list of registered voters throughout the State. It shall be maintained and administered by the State Board. NYSVoter shall maintain one record for each registered voter including the statewide unique identifier, current voting eligibility status of the voter and voter history, including but not limited to, voting history, previous name(s) and addresses. A voter's driver's license or non-driver's identification number or any portion of the social security number shall not be released for public inspection. The information contained in the statewide voter registration list shall not be used for non-election purposes.

(c)The County Boards of Elections (county board) have sole responsibility for adding, changing, canceling or removing voter registration records from their county's portion of the statewide voter registration list. The State Board shall make accessible to each local Board of Elections the statewide voter registration list. Such list shall be maintained in a computerized form which permits different user interfaces which meet the defined interface specification.

(d)NYSVoter shall maintain a transaction history of changes made to each voter record, including but not limited to: each change made and reasons therefore; the date and time stamp to record the date of change; the ID of the county board operator and system that updated the record; and a description of the key elements that were changed.

(e)NYSVoter shall operate on a 24-hour-a-day, seven days a week basis (e.g., the system must be accessible during election periods) except for any required maintenance periods, that shall be scheduled to minimize impact on the State Board and county boards' election administration and voter registration functions. In the event that a transaction is not processed the county board shall be notified with the reason.

(f)Effective date.

Effective immediately except that subdivision (d) of this section shall become effective on July 1, 2007.

9 NYCRR 6217.2 - Initial creation of the statewide voter registration list

Source version current through Mar 31, 2022

Later State Register activity may affect this section.

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Dates and status

NYCRR title agency: Executive Department
Section status: Section source receipt
Source version current through: Mar 31, 2022

(a)The official statewide voter registration list shall be created by combining the existing voter registration lists maintained by each local Board of Elections into a single integrated list.

(b)To the maximum extent practicable, each local Board of Elections shall continue to use its existing computer infrastructure, computer software and database applications to access data from and transmit data to the statewide voter registration list.

(c)The information required to be sent to the State Board to appear on the list shall be determined by the State Board of Commissioners.

(d)To create such list, each local Board of Elections shall transmit to the State Board a certified copy of the voter registration records of such board in an electronic format prescribed by the State Board and continuing as directed by the State Board.

(e)Once all data from the counties has been received, the State Board shall run a check for duplicate voter registration records within the integrated statewide voter registration list as provided for in these regulations.

(f)After all duplicate registration issues have been resolved, the State Board shall assign a unique identifier to every voter on NYSVoter.

(g)The county board shall append the same unique identifier to any corresponding county record.

(h)Effective date.

Effective immediately except that subdivision (g) of this section shall become effective on July 1, 2007.

9 NYCRR 6217.3 - Review of county voter registration systems

Source version current through Mar 31, 2022

A matched Register action is not later than the compiled-text reference date.

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Dates and status

NYCRR title agency: Executive Department
Section status: Section source receipt
Source version current through: Mar 31, 2022
Related Register notice: SBE-39-21-00002-A · Adopted rule
Related notice published: Feb 9, 2022
Related notice effective date: Feb 9, 2022

(a)Every county voter registration system must be approved by the State Board to ensure it continually meets the functional, technical and security specifications promulgated by the State Board for interfacing with the official statewide voter registration list. For proposed systems, this approval must be obtained prior to sending data to the statewide list.

(b)A county voter registration system must have the capability to:

(1)allow county boards to capture, store and retrieve voter and election information as required in New York State Election Law and this Part;

(2)interface with the official statewide voter registration list;

(3)meet all security requirements as set forth by the State Board for such systems;

(4)track information specific to single elections, including the issuance and return of absentee ballots; and

(5)store and provide images of signatures of registered voters.

(c)A county's voter registration system must conform to all of the requirements of state law and of these regulations, and if it does not, the State Board must notify the county board of the nature of the nonconformity and provide a date when such nonconformity shall be corrected. The county board correction of the nonconforming aspects of the county voter registration system shall be by the date provided and provide to the State Board such evidence of the change or changes in the system as the State Board may deem appropriate.

(d)NYSVoter shall ensure all data complies with the data standards for the database. County systems must be remediated so that all required data is sent to and received from the centralized database.

9 NYCRR 6217.4 - Voter registration information entry

Source version current through Mar 31, 2022

Later State Register activity may affect this section.

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Dates and status

NYCRR title agency: Executive Department
Section status: Section source receipt
Source version current through: Mar 31, 2022

(a)Using the county's voter registration system as their direct interface to NYSVoter, county election officials shall enter all voter registration information into the list on an expedited basis at the time the information is provided to the county official. Each county board must enter and maintain voter registration records in a county voter registration system. County boards have the responsibility for adding, changing, canceling or removing voter registration records through an interface NYSVoter. NYSVoter, shall normalize to standards and store voter registrant information provided on the registration applicant.

(b)County voter registration systems shall synchronize with NYSVoter at least every 24 hours.

(c)County voter registration systems shall maintain near real-time synchronization.

(d)Each NYSVoter record must contain at least the following information:

(1)full name including, last name, first name, middle initial and name suffix;

(2)residence address including house number or apartment number, half code, street name and direction, city and five-digit ZIP code and ZIP code plus four, or an indication of a non-standard residence address;

(3)mailing address (if different from residence address) including house, apartment number, or post office box number, street name and direction, city, state and five-digit ZIP code and ZIP code plus four and country;

(4)United States Postal Service coding accuracy support service address (if available). This is the process of correcting mailing address lists to conform to United States Postal Service standards. This improves the accuracy of the postal carrier route, five-digit ZIP code and ZIP code plus four, that appear on mail pieces;

(5)birth date;

(6)telephone number (if indicated);

(7)gender (if indicated);

(8)New York State Department of Motor Vehicles driver's license number or non-driver's identification number or the last four digits of social security number or an indication that the voter has neither number;

(9)political party enrollment or affiliation (or lack thereof);

(10)county voter registration number;

(11)county code;

(12)data entry date. The date that the voter registration data was entered into the system;

(13)application date. The date on which the voter registration application was marked as being received and is the date of voting eligibility of the registrant;

(14)Application source code. NYSVoter shall collect and track the source of voter registration applications and summarize and report on registration activity in accordance with National Voter Registration Act reporting requirements;

(15)identification required flag;

(16)identification verification requirement met flag;

(17)voter status codes;

(18)official district information including home political subdivision, election district, town, town ward, Congressional, Senate and Assembly districts;

(19)voting history, including, whether a voter voted in an election (State, Federal, and local elections), last year voted, last county voted in;

(20)voter transaction history, including, address changes, and name changes;

(21)signature of the voter. NYSVoter shall capture and store a graphic image of the signature on a registration application. NYSVoter shall receive and store an image of the signature captured and provided by the county voter registration system:

(i)ease of signature comparison. The signatures shall be stored in a way to enhance speed of display;

(ii)restrictions of image editing. NYSVoter shall not allow the authorized user to modify the basic characteristics, structures, and recognizable format of the registrant's signature.

(e)Effective date.

Effective immediately except that subdivision (b) of this section shall sunset and be deemed repealed on June 30, 2007; subdivision (c) and paragraphs (d)(4) and (21) of this section shall become effective on July 1, 2007.

9 NYCRR 6217.5 - Voter registration processing

Source version current through Mar 31, 2022

Later State Register activity may affect this section.

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Dates and status

NYCRR title agency: Executive Department
Section status: Section source receipt
Source version current through: Mar 31, 2022

(a)In order to vote in New York State, a person must possess the constitutional and statutory qualifications of an elector and must be registered to vote, and if required, be enrolled in a political party.

(1)Qualifications to register to vote:

(i)United States citizen;

(ii)eighteen years of age or older on election day or will be at least 18 years old not later than December 31st of the calendar year in which he or she registers; and

(iii)resident in New York State and of the county, city or village for a minimum of 30 days next preceding such election.

(2)Disqualifications from voter registration:

(i)death;

(ii)sentenced to prison based upon a felony conviction;

(iii)moves out of their county of residence; or

(iv)adjudged mentally incompetent by the order of a court.

(b)When a voter registration application is received, the county board is responsible for processing each application and determining whether the application is complete and whether the applicant meets constitutional and statutory requirements. All voter registration applications shall be date and time stamped to establish eligibility and to establish the time lapse of not more than 21 days maximum for a completely processed voter registration. Procedures for opening mail, time stamping documents or pre-screening, to the extent that they are not prescribed by this Part, are left to the county boards to establish.

(c)All voter registration activity must be done by a bipartisan team of workers, to assure fairness and uniformity in the process.

(1)Bipartisan processing:

(i)Staff member(s) of one major political party review(s) and enters the information from either an individual application or a batch of applications.

(ii)The work on such application or batch of applications is proofread and reviewed by a staff member(s) of the opposite major political party.

(iii)Any edits or changes to the information initially entered must be made and approved, in a bipartisan process, by the two staff members of opposite parties.

(iv)Once completed by two staff members of opposite parties, the information is sent from the county registration system to NYSVoter for inclusion on the statewide list of registered voters, and verification of each voter's identity.

(d)Once an application for registration has been entered it is processed in one of three ways:

(1)Registered. The voter's registration record has been updated with all following required information:

(i)the applicant's name;

(ii)the applicant's complete residence address;

(iii)the applicant's date of birth such that the applicant is or will be 18 years of age by Election Day or not later than December 31st of the calendar year in which he or she registers;

(iv)a mark in the checkbox affirming the applicant is a citizen of the United States;

(v)verification information:

(a)the applicant's current and valid New York driver's license number or, the non- driver's identification number; or

(b)if the applicant has not been issued a current and valid New York driver's license or non-driver's identification card, the last four digits of the applicant's social security number; or

(c)in the case where an applicant has not been issued a current and valid New York driver's license or non-driver's identification card or social security number, the applicant shall affirm this fact in the manner prescribed in the uniform statewide voter registration application; and

(vi)original signature of the applicant swearing or affirming that the information contained in the registration application is true.

(2)Incomplete. A voter registration application is incomplete if it does not contain the required information in paragraph (a)(1) of this section; and incomplete voter records are not uploaded to the NYSVoter database, but may be maintained within the county election management system.

(3)Denied. Once an application is denied, the voter is provided a notification; denied voter records are not uploaded to the NYSVoter database, but may be maintained within the county election management system.

(4)If any of the required information is missing on the voter registration application, the county board shall take immediate steps to obtain the missing information. In any such case the county board shall notify the applicant of the reasons that the registration application is incomplete and the period of time in which the application information must be provided in order to be eligible to vote in the next election.

(5)When the missing information is necessary to verify the applicant's identity pursuant to Election Law, section 5-210, the application shall be processed, the applicant registered, and a notice of approval which includes an indication that the county board has not been able to verify the identity of the applicant and a request for more information so that such verification may be completed shall be sent to the registrant pursuant to statute and these regulations.

(e)Following entry into the county voter registration system, all information in the application for voter registration must be transferred electronically to NYSVoter which will then electronically notify the county voter registration system with a response that includes confirmation of the transaction, an assigned unique identifier and registration status in NYSVoter. NYSVoter shall assign a unique identifier to every voter that will remain with the voter for their voting life.

9 NYCRR 6217.6 - Voter identification verification

Related State Register notice: Adopted rule SBE-16-22-00005-A. Published Sep 21, 2022. Notice effective date: Sep 21, 2022.

Source version current through Mar 31, 2022

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Dates and status

NYCRR title agency: Executive Department
Section status: Register check
Source version current through: Mar 31, 2022
Related Register notice: SBE-16-22-00005-A · Adopted rule
Related notice published: Sep 21, 2022
Related notice effective date: Sep 21, 2022

Current section text is not available here.

9 NYCRR 6217.7 - Processing voters who move between counties

Source version current through Mar 31, 2022

A matched Register action is not later than the compiled-text reference date.

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Dates and status

NYCRR title agency: Executive Department
Section status: Section source receipt
Source version current through: Mar 31, 2022
Related Register notice: SBE-14-19-00006-A · Adopted rule
Related notice published: Jul 10, 2019
Related notice effective date: Jul 10, 2019

(a)NYSVoter shall identify as voters that have moved between counties those voters who have stated on their application that the last year they voted, or were registered to vote, was in a county other than where they are applying to register to vote and the voter provided the previous address at which they were registered.

(b)NYSVoter shall notify affected counties of an apparent duplicate voter record, and thus a possible move between counties based upon a match of an applicant's name and date of birth.

(c)NYSVoter shall provide the capability for the county to verify that a voter has moved between counties based upon a match of the applicant's signature and either the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles driver license or non-driver number or last four digits of the voter's social security number or matching of the previous address of the voter.

(d)When a Board of Elections receives notice that a voter on the statewide list has moved to an address in such Board of Elections’ county or city, the Board of Elections shall transfer the voter to the new address and send a transfer notice as provided for in Election Law, section 5-208(1)(5).

(e)NYSVoter shall notify the "from county" if a voter has moved their voter registration between the counties. After determining that the voter has moved, the "to county" will effectuate the transfer and substitute the NYSVoter assigned unique identifier with such unique identifier of the "from county". The NYSVoter system shall allow all information associated with the registration to be viewed by the "to" county.

(f)NYSVoter shall notify the "from county" if a voter has moved their voter registration between counties. In such cases, the "from county," upon determining that such records are for the same voter, shall cancel the voter record in their county and provide the required cancellation notice to the voter pursuant to Election Law, section 5-402. In such cases where the "from county" is unable to determine that the proposed duplicate records are from the same voter, after providing the required notice to the voter, the "from county" shall place such voter in inactive status.

(g)NYSVoter shall facilitate the move process if the "to county" has been informed of the registrant's "from county" on the voter registration form or from the registrant.

(h)The moving of voters from one county to another may occur as a result of a new voter registration form being processed or by any mechanism provided for in Election Law section 5-208.

(i)Applicable to transfers.

Any Board of Elections which receives information that a voter has moved to an address in another county in New York State which would have permitted such "from county" board to transfer the voter registration address within the county if the address indicated was an in-county change of address, shall send a copy of the address transfer information, including a voter registration number to the "to county" Board of Elections where the voter has moved. The "to county" shall, using such voter’s information contained in NYSVoter, including enrollment and signature exemplar, along with the new address information, place the voter at the new address pursuant to Election Law section 5-208 and provide notice to the voter in the manner provided in this section. When the "from county" forwards transfer information to another county Board of Elections for further processing, the "from county" shall send a confirmation notice in a form approved by the State board to the prior address of such voter in the "from county." Further list maintenance steps as required by this Part shall be undertaken upon notification by NYSVoter that the voter is registered at an address in another county in New York or upon notification received from the voter.

(j)If such registration or change of address information effectuating such transfer also reflects a change of enrollment as evidenced by the NYSVoter record, the "to county" Board of Elections shall also treat such as an application for a change of enrollment pursuant to Election Law section 5-304.

9 NYCRR 6217.8 - Processing duplicate voters

Source version current through Mar 31, 2022

Later State Register activity may affect this section.

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Dates and status

NYCRR title agency: Executive Department
Section status: Section source receipt
Source version current through: Mar 31, 2022

(a)NYSVoter shall identify possible duplicate voter registrations as needed by the county board based upon a match of an applicant's first name, last name, and date of birth.

(b)NYSVoter shall identify possible duplicate voter registrations in near real time at or near the time of data entry for all registration application transactions based upon a match of an applicant's first three letters of the first name and the first five letters of the last name, date of birth, and, if available, the unique identification number, or the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles driver license or non-driver number or last four digits of the voter's social security number. An image of the potential duplicate voter's signature shall be made available to the county boards for comparison.

(c)NYSVoter shall notify the counties with matching records if voters are potential duplicate registrations between counties. The notification shall include pertinent information regarding the voter.

(d)If the information received by the Board of Elections through NYSVoter indicates that a voter is currently registered to vote more than once, the local Board of Elections containing the registration record of the earlier dated registration record, the "from county", shall send such voter the confirmation notice prescribed by section 5-712 of the Election Law and place such voter on inactive status pursuant to section 5-213 of the Election Law.

(e)After determining that the voter is a duplicate, the "to county" will activate a new record.

(f)After determining that the voter is a duplicate, the "to county" will substitute the unique identifier with the unique identifier from the "from county".

(g)Effective date.

Effective immediately except that subdivisions (b) and (f) of this section shall become effective on July 1, 2007.

9 NYCRR 6217.9 - Voter registration status

Source version current through Mar 31, 2022

A matched Register action is not later than the compiled-text reference date.

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Dates and status

NYCRR title agency: Executive Department
Section status: Section source receipt
Source version current through: Mar 31, 2022
Related Register notice: SBE-14-19-00005-A · Adopted rule
Related notice published: Jul 10, 2019
Related notice effective date: Jul 10, 2019

(a)Each voter maintained in NYSVoter will be assigned a voter registration status by the county board which will determine the voter's eligibility to vote. The voter registration status will be updated after an application is processed and an application disposition has been assigned. The discreet voter registration statuses and their definitions to be stored by NYSVoter are described below.

(1)Active. The voter is properly registered and is eligible to vote in elections. There are several categories of active voters, as specified below:

(i)active;

(ii)active miliary;

(iii)active UOCAVA;

(iv)active special presidential; and

(v)active special Federal.

(2)Inactive. The voter is still eligible to vote in elections, but is not included in the poll book. NYSVoter shall allow a county election official to designate a voter as inactive, noting the reason for the designation, such as "election material mailed to registrant returned as undeliverable" or "moved with an out of county forwarding address", "affidavit ballots".

(3)Purged. The voter is no longer eligible to vote in an election, and will not appear in the list of registered voters. This list is to be utilized to prevent deceased voters from overwhelming valid voters when doing voter searches and to allow for voters who later re-register to vote to resurrect and utilize their unique identifier.

(4)Pre-registered. The voter has met all the requirements to be an active voter but has not yet attained the age of 18. Pre-registered voters that will be 18 years old on or before the election date are included in the poll book and are eligible to vote in the election. The voter must be at least 16 years old to pre-register.

(5)NYSVoter store reason codes for inactive and purged voters indicating or explaining the reason for a specific voter's status, as follows:

(i)inactive status - mail check, NCOA, returned mail;

(ii)purged status - death, voter request, felon, ADF (adjudicated) incompetent, NVRA, moved out of country.

9 NYCRR 6217.10 - Voter registration list changes and list maintenance

Source version current through Apr 15, 2022

Later State Register activity may affect this section.

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Dates and status

NYCRR title agency: Executive Department
Section status: Section source receipt
Source version current through: Apr 15, 2022

(a)List maintenance activities and schedules.

(1)The State Board, in consultation with local boards of elections, shall establish minimum standards for statewide voter registration list maintenance activities and schedules for such activities.

(2)The list maintenance performed shall be conducted in a manner consistent with the Election Law and these regulations to ensure that:

(i)the name of each registered voter appears in the statewide voter registration list;

(ii)only names of persons who are not registered or who are not eligible to vote are removed from such list; and

(iii)the prior registrations of duplicate names are removed from such list.

(b)Notices of cancellation.

(1)Where a county board determines that a voter's registration shall be cancelled, the record shall be flagged with a status of purged and the appropriate purged reason code and a cancellation notice as provided for in Election Law, section 5-402, shall be sent to the voter, except that no cancellation notice shall be sent to a person whose voter registration record has been flagged as deceased or who has made a personal request for such cancellation.

(2)The county board shall electronically file with the State Board a cancellation and removal report indicating all cancellations and removal actions taken by the local Board of Elections from the list of eligible voters. Such report shall be filed in a format and at such intervals as directed by the State Board.

(c)Address, name and enrollment changes within a county.

(1)When a review and query of a voter registration application indicates that the voter is already registered to vote within the county, and is initiating a change to their record, such change shall be processed, and the record updated and the appropriate notice shall be sent to the voter:

(i)For an address change—a transfer notice as provided for in Election Law, section 5-208(1)(5).

(ii)For a name change, or the addition or deletion of a post office box—an approval notice as provided for in Election Law, section 5-210(9).

(iii)For a change of enrollment—a letter from the county board confirming receipt of the same and stating the effective date of the enrollment change.

(2)Before an update or change can be applied to an existing voter registration record, a county board shall perform a search of existing voters to ensure that the application is not a new registration and is an update or change to an existing record within the county.

(d)Notifications of a death, felony conviction or adjudication of mental incompetence.

(1)NYSVoter shall receive death notifications including the voter's first name, middle name, last name, gender, date of death, date of birth, street address, city, and ZIP code, from New York State Department of Health and New York City Department of Health and Mental Health. NYSVoter may be matched against the United States Social Security Administration's Master Death Index. Notification shall be sent to the appropriate county for follow-up and determination.

(2)NYSVoter shall receive notices of felons sentenced to a term of imprisonment and of persons adjudicated mentally incompetent including the voter's last name, first name, middle name, gender, date of birth, street address, city, state, ZIP code, county, and a code indicating whether the person is a convicted felon sentenced to a term of imprisonment or a person adjudicated mentally incompetent from the New York State Office of Court Administration or any court having jurisdiction over such matters. Notifications shall be sent to the appropriate county for follow-up and determination.

(3)Each local Board of Elections shall, within 25 days after receiving such list of decedents or list of persons subject to forfeiture of the right to vote pursuant to section 5-106 of the Election Law, use such lists to identify and remove decedents and persons subject to forfeiture of the right to vote pursuant to section 5-106 of this article from the list of eligible voters.

(e)National change of address.

National change of address processing shall be conducted with a United States Postal Service approved vendor at least annually. The processing shall at a minimum identify voter address change information, whether permanent or temporary; provide data which can be used to standardize addresses and provide enhanced ZIP code extensions, to assist in more accurate delivery of voter mail; and notification of deceased status. Notifications shall be sent to the appropriate county for follow-up and determination.

9 NYCRR 6217.11 - Voter registration list security and user administration

Source version current through Mar 31, 2022

Later State Register activity may affect this section.

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Dates and status

NYCRR title agency: Executive Department
Section status: Section source receipt
Source version current through: Mar 31, 2022

(a)Statewide.

NYSVoter relies on shared security with both the county board and State Board having responsibilities over specific system resources and administration. The State Board will be responsible for providing tools necessary for county boards to authorize local users to NYSVoter functions, verify that local users identified in transaction headers are authorized for that purpose, and for insuring that a message was not altered in transmission.

(b)County board.

Security over county voter registration systems and networks, administration of local users, authentication and authorization of county board personnel will be the responsibility of each county board. Each county board will configure the local county user to have access pursuant to NYSVoter. Since access to NYSVoter will be through the county voter registration system, administration and authorization to the county voter registration system must include the assignment of a user ID and password for the county voter registration system that has a role or user-based security management. County boards will have the rights to create and modify county users as well as delete users when appropriate in their own county.

9 NYCRR 6217.12 - Reports and information queries

Source version current through Mar 31, 2022

Later State Register activity may affect this section.

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Dates and status

NYCRR title agency: Executive Department
Section status: Section source receipt
Source version current through: Mar 31, 2022

(a)NYSVoter shall provide to county board operators the ability to:

(1)query all records in the database, regardless of county;

(2)conduct user-defined searches of voter records;

(3)generate pre-defined and ad hoc queries and reports in formats as needed;

(4)filter reports based on key data fields contained in the output (e.g., date, county);

(5)provide a third party reporting tool (e.g., query by example) for ad hoc reporting requests; and

(6)sort voter registration data by county, election district, jurisdiction, birth date, and other information (e.g., last name, first name, voter registration number, unique identification number, address order).

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