Help America Vote Verification (HAVV) Fact Sheet and Usage by State

HAVV Fact Sheet Table of Contents			HAVV Data (HTML View)
What is HAVA? What is HAVV? Are all of the states using the 4-digit HAVV system? What does this data represent? What do these terms mean?			Use the drop down menu to explore weekly HAVV summary reports in HTML. -- Choose a week -- January 2011 to present totals Week ending September 08, 2012 Week ending September 01, 2012 Week ending August 25, 2012 Week ending August 18, 2012 Week ending August 11, 2012 Week ending August 04, 2012 Week ending July 28, 2012 Week ending July 21, 2012 Week ending July 14, 2012 Week ending July 07, 2012 Week ending June 30, 2012 Week ending June 23, 2012 Week ending June 16, 2012 Week ending June 09, 2012 Week ending June 02, 2012 Week ending May 26, 2012 Week ending May 19, 2012 Week ending May 12, 2012 Week ending May 5, 2012 Week ending April 28, 2012 Week ending April 21, 2012 Week ending April 14, 2012 Week ending April 07, 2012 Week ending March 31, 2012 Week ending March 24, 2012 Week ending March 17, 2012 Week ending March 10, 2012 Week ending March 3, 2012 Week ending February 25, 2012 Week ending February 18, 2012 Week ending February 11, 2012 Week ending February 4, 2012 Week ending January 28, 2012 Week ending January 21, 2012 Week ending January 14, 2012 Week ending January 7, 2012 -- 2011 totals -- Week ending December 31, 2011 Week ending December 24, 2011 Week ending December 17, 2011 Week ending December 10, 2011 Week ending December 3, 2011 Week ending November 26, 2011 Week ending November 19, 2011 Week ending November 12, 2011 Week ending November 5, 2011 Week ending October 29, 2011 Week ending October 22, 2011 Week ending October 15, 2011 Week ending October 8, 2011 Week ending October 1, 2011 Week ending September 24, 2011 Week ending September 17, 2011 Week ending September 10, 2011 Week ending September 3, 2011 Week ending August 27, 2011 Week ending August 20, 2011 Week ending August 13, 2011 Week ending August 6, 2011 Week ending July 30, 2011 Week ending July 23, 2011 Week ending July 16, 2011 Week ending July 9, 2011 Week ending July 2, 2011 Week ending June 25, 2011 Week ending June 18, 2011 Week ending June 11, 2011 Week ending June 4, 2011 Week ending May 28, 2011 Week ending May 21, 2011 Week ending May 14, 2011 Week ending May 7, 2011 Week ending April 30, 2011 Week ending April 23, 2011 Week ending April 16, 2011 Week ending April 9, 2011 Week ending April 2, 2011 Week ending March 26, 2011 Week ending March 19, 2011 Week ending March 12, 2011 Week ending March 5, 2011 Week ending February 26, 2011 Week ending February 19, 2011 Week ending February 12, 2011 Week ending February 5, 2011 Week ending January 29, 2011 Week ending January 22, 2011 Week ending January 15, 2011 Week ending January 8, 2011 Download the HAVV data

What is HAVA?

The Help America Vote Act of 2002, P.L. 107-252 (HAVA) requires States to verify the information of newly registered voters for Federal elections.  Each State must establish a computerized State-wide voter registration list and verify new voter information with the State’s Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA).

The States are required to verify the driver’s license number against the state MVA database.  Only in situations where no driver’s license exists should the states verify the last four digits of the new voter registrant’s Social Security Number (SSN).  The State submits the last digits of the SSN, name, and date of birth to the MVA for verification with SSA.  In addition, SSA is required to report whether its records indicate that the registrant is deceased.

To ensure the privacy of the SSN, HAVA restricted the collection to only the last four digits of the SSN.  HAVA provides that these last four digits do not constitute an SSN.

What is HAVV?

To comply with the requirements of section 303 of HAVA, SSA developed a new verification system, known as the Help America Vote Verification (HAVV) system, in August 2004.  States must only submit a request to us for new voters who do not present a valid driver’s license during the voter registration process.  HAVV verifies the accuracy of the name, date of birth, and last four digits of SSN submitted and sends an indication of whether our records show the individual as deceased.

Are all the States using the 4-digit HAVV system?

Forty-three states currently use HAVV. Although the 4-digit HAVV system is designed to track usage by all states and territories, the law does not require all states to use the system. Seven States are not using the 4-digit HAVV system.

• Six States (New Mexico, Hawaii, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia) are “grandfathered” under section 7 of the Privacy Act, and are permitted to use the 9-digit SSN on applications for voter registration.  None of these states currently uses the 4-digit HAVV verification.
• North Dakota does not require voter registration and also does not use the system.
• In addition, neither the territories (the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, and the United States Virgin Islands) nor the District of Columbia, are using the 4-digit system.

What does this data represent?

This data represents the results of the 4-digit match performed using our HAVV system.  We operate HAVV as required by HAVA.

Note: Please address questions about the use of the system by any particular state to the appropriate voter registration official in that state.

What do these terms mean?

The following list describes the types of data in the HAVV dataset.

1. Total Transactions: The total number of verification requests made during the time period.
2. Unprocessed Transactions: The total number of verification requests that could not be processed because the data sent to us was invalid, (e.g., missing, not formatted correctly).
3. Total Matches:  The total number of verification requests where there is at least one match in our records on the name, last four digits of the SSN and date of birth.
4. Total Non Matches: The total number of verification requests where there is no match in our records on the name, last four digits of the SSN or date of birth.
5. Multiple Matches Found – At least one alive and at least one deceased: The total number of verification requests where there are multiple matches on name, date of birth, and the last four digits of the SSN, and at least one of the number holders is alive and at least one of the number holders is deceased.
6. Single Match Found – Alive: The total number of verification requests where there is only one match in our records on name, last four digits of the SSN and date of birth, and the number holder is alive.
7. Single Match Found – Deceased: The total number of verification requests where there is only one match in our records on name, date of birth, and last four digits of the SSN, and the number holder is deceased.
8. Multiple Matches Found – All Alive: The total number of verification requests where there are multiple matches on name, date of birth, and last four digits of the SSN, and each match indicates the number holder is alive.
9. Multiple Match Found – All Deceased:  The total number of verification requests where there are multiple matches on name, date of birth, and the last four digits of the SSN, and each match indicates the  number holder is deceased.