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Statewide Voter Registration System

  • HAVA requires that each state implement a statewide voter registration system that includes the name and registration information for every voter in the state and assigns a unique identifier to each one. The law also calls for voter records to be compared to the state’s motor vehicle department records.
  • In the past, voter registration lists were maintained at the local level. The new statewide databases will be managed at the state level, and should help streamline election administration. For the first time, local election officials will have the ability to view voter registration information beyond the confines of their own county’s borders. Local officials now can direct voters to their appropriate polling place even if that location is on the other side of the state.
  • Indiana was one of the first states to implement a statewide voter registration system. The state completed the system in November 2005 and, in fact, did more than meet the minimum requirements. Indiana linked the system to the state’s Bureau of Motor Vehicles and to its Departments of Health and Correction in order to increase the accuracy of voter records and to prevent voter fraud.
  • The state also reviewed its voter registration records and identified close to 300,000 possible duplicate registrations; as many as 29,000 records for voters who may be deceased; and approximately 5,600 potential registered felons. The Secretary of State’s office is working now to confirm and eliminate any unlawful or inaccurate registration records.
  • According to a survey conducted by the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS), the states will spend most of their federal election reform money on the registration systems. More than half of the survey’s respondents said their states will spend up to 40 percent of their HAVA funds on the system, and one in five states will spend as much as 70 percent. Indiana spent approximately 19 percent of its HAVA money on the system.

Comments or questions regarding the statewide voter registration system?
E-mail the HAVA Administrator at havaadministrator@sos.state.in.us.

Statewide Voter Registration System Contract - September 15, 2004

Statewide Voter Registration System Request for Proposals

January 30, 2004 Vendor Conference Participant Contact Information