Items to Consider When Requesting Chapter 19 Funds
| Payable | Non-Payable |
|---|---|
| Voter Registration Drives - rental of space and supplies – T.A.C. § 81.12 Deputy Voter Registrar Supplies – T.A.C. § 81.14 Voter Registration Applications |
Promotional items - cups, coffee mugs, ink pens, t-shirts, rulers, drink coolers, windshield shades, etc. – T.A.C. § 81.25 |
| Association Publications - newsletters, newspapers with Voter Registration Related issues – T.A.C. § 81.25 | Chapter 19 funded voter registration drives must not promote a particular party, candidate, or issue. |
| Temporary Employees – T.A.C. § 81.22 (now payable for up to 39 weeks – HB 3061) | Permanent full-time and part-time county employees may not be compensated with Chapter 19 funds. – TAC 81.22 |
| Travel to seminar(s) that directly advance Voter Registrar efforts – T.A.C. § 81.23 | Alcoholic Beverages, gratuities and tips, and/or any food or drinks other than for a trip – T.A.C. § 81.23 |
| Computer training for duties relating to voter registration, hardware & software upgrades – T.A.C. § 81.26 | County may not be reimbursed for the compensation of full or part-time county employees and programmers.– TAC 81.22 |
| Electronic office equipment - typewriters, fax machines, adding machines, shredders, optical imaging systems, electronic retriever file systems, electronic poll books, copiers – T.A.C. § 81.27 | Office furniture, supplies, normal postage, & general office equipment. – T.A.C. § 81.14 |
| NVRA Expenses – printing and mailing of confirmation notices – T.A.C. § 81.28 | If an item purchased or service rendered is not exclusively related to voter registration, the cost must be prorated |
Other Items to Consider When Requesting Chapter 19 Funds
- Chapter 19 funds expenditures must comply with the criteria of "reasonable and necessary" as established by Texas Grant Management Standards (TxGMS) and may only be used for the following activities:
- Increase the number of registered voters in the state.
- Maintain and report an accurate list of the number of registered voters.
- Increase the efficiency of the voter registration office through the use of technological equipment.
- If the registrar's county has a population of less than 55,000, defray the cost to the registrar's county of keeping the polling places in the county open during the early voting period.
- If an expense is related to a legal requirement or duty of the office or applies directly to the election process, then it's a county expense.
- Chapter 19 is a reimbursement only program and payable to the county via Direct Deposit.
- All electronic requests must be submitted through the designated secured electronic web-based application designed solely for Chapter 19 purchases, located on the Office of the Secretary of State web site.
- All supporting documentation must be maintained in accordance with §81.21 Records Maintenance and Payment Reviews at the county level and available upon SOS request.
- Chapter 19 funding requests must be received within twelve (12) months of payment to vendor.
- Chapter 19 will reimburse the counties for confirmation card postage fees with the business reply account. Texas Administrative Rule §81.28 authorizes for reimbursement of confirmation cards and business reply accounts for those cards based on a report available within the TEAM system.
- Travel is the only item that can be advanced through Chapter 19 funding.
- Chapter 19 funds may be advanced for hotel, mileage or airfare, and seminar registration fees. Items not advanced are taxes, and meals.
- Each traveler receiving advance funds is responsible for filing actual travel expenses.
- Travel expense reimbursement requests must be submitted within twelve (12) months of the completion of travel. Failure to do so will result in the withholding of all pending and future CH19 funding requests until the SOS receives confirmation of the actual expenses.
- Travel items not reimbursed under Chapter 19 are valet parking, tips, and alcoholic beverages.
Funding Lapse Dates:
After June 1 of each year funding becomes available to the counties as defined in §19.002 of the Election Code and remains available for 27 months, expiring on August 31.
