§ 2145a. Registrations at the Department of Motor Vehicles

(a) An application for, or renewal of, a motor vehicle driver's license or nondriver identification card shall serve as a simultaneous application to register to vote unless the applicant checks the box on the application designating that he or she declines to use the application as a voter registration application.

(b)(1) A motor vehicle driver's license or nondriver identification card application shall provide and request the following information and shall be in the form approved by the Secretary of State:

(A) The applicant's citizenship.

(B) The applicant's place and date of birth.

(C) The applicant's town of legal residence.

(D) The applicant's street address or a description of the physical location of the applicant's residence. The description must contain sufficient information so that the town clerk can determine whether the applicant is a resident of the town.

(E) The voter's oath.

(F) The applicant's e-mail address, which shall be optional to provide.

(2) A motor vehicle driver's license or nondriver identification card application shall provide the following statements:

(A) "By signing and submitting this application, you are authorizing the Department of Motor Vehicles to transmit this application to the Secretary of State for voter registration purposes. YOU MAY DECLINE TO REGISTER. Both the office through which you submit this application and your decision of whether or not to register will remain confidential and will be used for voter registration purposes only."

(B) "In order to be registered to vote, you must: (1) be a U.S. citizen; (2) be a resident of Vermont; (3) have taken the voter's oath; and (4) be 18 years of age or older. Any person meeting the requirements of (1)-(3) who will be 18 years of age on or before the date of a general election may register and vote in the primary election immediately preceding that general election. Failure to decline to register is an attestation that you meet the requirements to vote."

(3) A motor vehicle driver's license or nondriver identification card application shall provide the penalties provided by law for submission of a false voter registration application and shall require the signature of the applicant, under penalty of perjury.

(c) An application for voter registration under this section shall update any previous voter registration by the applicant. Any change of address form submitted to the Department of Motor Vehicles in connection with an application for a motor vehicle driver's license shall serve to update voter registration information previously provided by the voter, unless the voter states on the form that the change of address is not for voter registration purposes.

(d)(1) The Department of Motor Vehicles shall transmit motor vehicle driver's license and nondriver identification card applications received under this section to the Secretary of State not later than five days after the date the application was accepted by the Department, or before the date of any primary or general election, whichever is sooner.

(2) The Department of Motor Vehicles shall not transmit motor vehicle driver's license and nondriver identification card applications when the applicant has designated that he or she declines to be registered.

(3) The Department of Motor Vehicles shall ensure confidentiality of records as required by subdivision (b)(2)(A) of this section.

(e) The Secretary shall promptly transmit applications received under this section to the clerks of the appropriate municipalities.

(f) In transmitting applications received under this section, the Secretary shall ensure compliance with the requirements of 15 V.S.A. chapter 21, subchapter 3.

(g) If a person who is ineligible to vote becomes registered to vote pursuant to this section in the absence of a violation of subsection 2145(f) of this chapter, that person's registration shall be presumed to have been effected with official authorization and not the fault of that person.

(h) The Secretary shall take appropriate measures to educate the public about voter registration under this section.

(i) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (d) of this section or any other provision of law to the contrary, the Department of Motor Vehicles shall share its motor vehicle driver's license, driver privilege card, and nondriver identification card customer data with the Secretary of State's office for the Secretary's use in conducting voter registration and voter checklist maintenance activities. (Added 1997, No. 47, § 5; amended 2013, No. 161 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; 2015, No. 44, § 5, eff. Jan. 1, 2017; 2015, No. 80 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. July 1, 2017; 2019, No. 67, § 6.)