Also of interest: Petition Process Information

Q: How many petition signatures are the organizers required to collect?

A: They must gather signatures of qualified Arlington voters equal to 10% of the total number of voters registered as of January 1 of the year they filed the petition with the Circuit Court (§ 24.2-684.1 of the Code of Virginia). Since they filed the petition in October 2009, we look at the number of active registered voters as of January 1, 2009, which was 143,497. 10% of that number is therefore 14,350.

Q: How long can they collect signatures?

A: The petitioners must submit their completed petitions to the Circuit Court by no later than nine months after the date the Court approved the petition. In this case, the petitions are due to the Court on July 15, 2010. Update: The petition pages were filed on time.

Q: What happens next?

A: After the Court receives the petitions, the Court submits them to the registrar for validation. The staff of the Office of Voter Registration will then check the names on the petition pages against the list of registered voters in Arlington.

Q: How long will it take the Office of Voter Registration to validate the names?

A: Effective July 1, 2010, the deadline for the Circuit Court to issue an order for a question to be on the November ballot is 81 days before the election. This means that if the petitions are determined valid (e.g. 14,350 voter signatures validated), the Court must be able to order the question by August 13, 2010 for it to be on the November 2 ballot. This gives the Office of Voter Registration about three weeks to validate the names. 

Q: How will you check the names?

A: We check each name against the Virginia Election and Registration Information System (VERIS), which is the database of registered voters in Virginia. VERIS has a special module just for petition checking. We basically look up each name on the page and determine whether the person qualifies as a registered voter in Arlington. If so, we mark the name both electronically on VERIS and manually on the petition page as accepted. VERIS keeps a running tally for us, so we always know where we are in terms of numbers.

Q: Will you need to hire additional staff?

A: The Office of Voter Registration has a number of experienced part-time assistant registrars on our payroll. They mainly help us out on a seasonal basis right before elections, but they are all on notice to assist us with this petition-checking process. So no, we won't be hiring anyone additional but instead bringing in our regular seasonal staff. This way we'll be able to work evenings and weekends, as well as during normal business hours, to get the names validated in time for the Court to meet the August 13 deadline (see above).

Q: Will the petition be available for public inspection?

A: Yes, it is our intent that copies of each petition page, after we've finished validating, will be available for public inspection. We are planning to post them online, which means they'll be available from this page.

Q: How will you determine which names will be counted?

A: If we can identify the person's name, and if the person was registered to vote in Arlington both on the date he or she signed the petition and at the time we check the name, we will count it. It doesn't matter if the person has changed addresses in the interim, as long as the move is within Arlington, because the person would still be eligible to vote on the question. If, however, the person has moved out of Arlington since signing, we cannot count the name. We also won't count names of persons not registered in Arlington or names we can't identify.

Q: Is legibility of handwriting a challenge for you?

A: Sometimes, yes. We'll make every effort to identify a name on a petition, with multiple staff members reviewing it, before we reject it. We can also search for registered voters by address, and that often helps us identify a name if we have trouble with the voter's handwriting.

Q: Do you check the actual signatures against your records?

A: Not as a general rule, as long as we can identify the voter. We might check if we have more than one person with a particular name on the rolls and neither is at the address provided on the petition. That way we are sure to count to the correct voter, in the event the voter has moved since signing.

Q: Will you reject a voter if he doesn't sign on the right line - for example, if he prints on the signature line and signs on the print line?

A: No. As long as we can identify the voter, we will accept the name.

Q: What if a voter signs the petition using a nickname or common name that is different from the person's name on the registration rolls?

A: Such a name might take us a little more time, but if we can identify it, we will accept it. We just have to be a little creative if we can't immediately find the name. Checking by address, where we can see all voters registered at a particular address, is a big help in these situations.

Q: Can the public observe the petition-checking process?

A: No. The electronic list of registered voters used for this process contains sensitive information than cannot be publicly disclosed, such as full dates of birth and Social Security numbers. For that reason, we cannot permit observers.

Q: What are some reasons petition pages might be rejected?

A: Each petition sheet is double-sided. The entire sheet is rejected if only one of the two pages is submitted (totally blank on one side); if the top of the first page does not include the petition question; or if the circulator's affidavit on the second page is not completed correctly (no or missing information). The page is also rejected if we determine the circulator is not eligible to circulate these petitions. The circulator must be eligible to register and vote for the proposed question.

Q: If one of the names on a petition sheet is invalid or not accepted, do you reject the entire page?

A: No. We count all valid names, even if there are some on a page that cannot be counted. We only reject the entire page for the reasons stated above.

Q: Will you reject a page if all lines for signatures are not completed?

A: No. We will accept any valid name on a petition page, even if there is only one signature.

Q: What is the process for challenging the petitions?

A: There is no process specified in the Code of Virginia for challenge or appeal of decisions on petition acceptance or rejection by the registrar. If, however, any individual has evidence that fraud has been committed in regards to petitions, the individual should present such evidence to the Commonwealth's Attorney. 

Q: What are some examples of possible petition fraud?

A: First of all, the person circulating the petition page -- the one actually asking voters to sign -- must be eligible to vote for the proposed question. Although we do check the names of circulators against the registered voters list, we will accept a name if the person is not registered but provides a valid Arlington residence address on the affidavit section of the petition. The law only requires the circulator to be eligible to vote, not actually registered, at the time the petition is circulated.

Second, the persons signing the petition affirm they are eligible registered voters in Arlington. We can only check names against records on our rolls. It is possible an individual may have moved from Arlington, meaning he would no longer be eligible to vote for the question, yet still be registered to vote in Arlington. The petition requires the voter to affirm his current residence address. If the person uses a former address, he is providing false information. 

Again, any allegations of fraud, along with appropriate evidence thereof, should be presented to the Commonwealth's Attorney.

Q: I signed the petition but have since decided I don't support the referendum. Can I have my name removed from the petition?

A: No, we cannot remove a name from the petition. The petition page itself clearly states that by signing, you are only indicating support for the question to be on the ballot. Your signature does not indicate your support for or intent to vote for the question itself.

Q: What happens once the Office of Voter Registration completes the petition validation? 

A: When we are finished checking the petitions, we will submit them to the Circuit Court. If the Court determines the question has qualified, they will issue a court order for the election, directing the Electoral Board to conduct a special election for the question. 

Q: When will the election be held? The petition states it will be on a date determined by the Court.

A: The election date is indeed determined by the Court. If the question qualifies prior to August 13, the Court can order it to be on the ballot November 2, 2010. That ballot will already include several ballot questions, in addition to the offices of House of Representatives, County Board, and School Board. There will be three proposed amendments to the Constitution of Virginia and four County bond referenda. Placing this referendum on November's ballot is the most probable scenario, although the actual date is up to the Court.