Administrative Complaints
If you experience a problem with voting systems standards, provisional voting or any other voting problem covered by Title III of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) and wish to register a formal complaint, there is a specific process for addressing it.
You must submit your complaint to the Office of the State Election Commissioner or any of the Departments of Elections for the counties. The complaint must be:
- In writing
- Notarized
- Signed and sworn by the voter.
If the complaint is originally submitted to the Department of Elections for the county, it will be forwarded to the State Election Commissioner on the same day it is received.
The State Election Commissioner’s Office will notify the complainant that they have received the complaint and what the resolution process will be. The State Election Commissioner is authorized to consolidate similar complaints for resolution purposes. If requested by the complainant, a hearing will be conducted.
Determinations
After receiving the complaint, the State Election Commissioner assigns a person or persons to examine it, gather data and determine if there was a violation. If the person investigating the complaint determines that there is a violation, they will report this and recommend a suitable remedy to the State Election Commissioner. The State Election Commissioner can accept, reject or modify the recommended remedy.
If the investigator finds that there was no violation, the complaint will be dismissed. The State Election Commissioner will publish the results of each investigation and resolution.
Timeframes
The State Election Commissioner will make a final determination with respect to a complaint within 90 days of receipt of the complaint, unless the complainant consents to a longer period of time. If the deadline is not met, the State Election Commissioner must take action to ensure that the complaint is resolved within 60 days under alternative dispute resolution procedures. All existing materials will be made available for these proceedings.
