ACA ENROLLMENT AND VOTER REGISTRATION

FOR HEALTH CENTERS AND OTHER NONPROFITS

Presented by

Nonprofit VOTEFair Elections Legal Network

National Association of Community Health Centers

ABOUT US

About

Nonprofit VOTE partners with America’s nonprofits to help the people server participate and vote. We are a hub for nonpartisan voter engagement resources for the nonprofit sector.

Nonprofit VOTE is a partner of the National Association of Secretaries of State for the nonprofit sector.

Find more about our mission and partners on our website: www.nonprofitvote.org

TODAY’S PRESENTERS

Who

Robert M. Brandon

Co-Founder and President,

Fair Elections Legal Network

Marc WetherhornSenior Director of

Advocacy and Civic Engagement,

National Association of

Community Health Centers

Registering Voters During ACA Implementation

Robert BrandonPresident Fair Elections Legal NetworkAugust 21, 2013

Two State Implementation Structures

17 states are directly handling enrollment in Health Exchanges and for Medicaid– CA, CO, CT, DC, HI, ID, KY, MD, MA, MN, NV, NM, NY, OR,

RI, VT, WA– National Voter Registration Act (Motor Voter Law) Compliance

Required except in MN and ID Other states are letting the federal government

run the health exchanges. Healthcare.gov application portal will mention voter registration

NVRA Compliance

Due to offering public assistance through enrollment of benefits, 15 states are required to comply with the NVRA. Secretaries of State will designate health exchanges voter registration sites (CA, VT, NY, CT)

-Citizens should be asked if they are registered. If “no,” they must be asked if they’d like to register during enrollment and be offered help

Colorado claims to be exempt through their unique structure. (Minnesota and Idaho are exempt because they had EDR when NVRA passed.)

Federal enrollment portal will have a registration link

Assisting with Registration

If your state is not NVRA compliant, you may still offer registration when assisting enrollment

Basic Requirements:– 18 Years of Age– US Citizen– A resident of the jurisdiction (often at least 30 days)– Meet Registration Deadline for your state (generally 30

days before election), but some states have same day registration during early voting or on Election Day

For more on voter registration requirements for your state, visit www.fairelectionsnetwork.com

Third Party Registration Regulations

States vary widely on requirements for third party registration organizations, with some being completely unregulated and some having requirements such as:– Mandating receipts for registrants– Training requirement (on line or in person)– Turnaround time to turn in completed registration forms:

10 days in Virginia, 48 hours in New Mexico

For guidance on third party regulations in your state, visit www.fairelectionsnetwork.com

FELN/NACHC/NPV Training Module Beginning in October, community health

centers will have access to a training module on conducting registration during ACA enrollment.

Training Module Contents

Registration requirements for your state Third party registration regulations Best practices for conducting voter

registration drives at health centers Scripts with the most effective outreach for

voter registration during enrollment Access to staff with expertise in voter

registration Community Health Vote dedicated voter

registration portal

ACA Enrollment and Voter Registration at Health Centers and

Other Service Providers

August 21, 2013

Presented by Marc Wetherhorn

Senior Director, Advocacy and Civic EngagementNational Association of Community Health Centers

Why Offer Non-Partisan Voter Registration?

• Elections matter to the future and the health of our clients

• The populations least likely to vote are OUR clients

• Health centers and other social service providers have a trusted relationship with their clients

• Because we CAN make an impact“The vote is the most powerful instrument ever devised by man for breaking down injustice and destroying the terrible walls which imprison men because they are different from other men.”

- Lyndon B Johnson

Nonprofits CAN increase voting among their clients, constituents, and staff

Results from NonProfit Vote – Track the Vote Project 2012• The clients and constituents engaged by nonprofits were

markedly more diverse, lower income, and voter turnout among those contacted by nonprofits was 74%, six points above the 68% turnout rate for all registered voters• Nonprofits were particularly effective at increasing voter turnout

among traditionally underrepresented groups and closing participation gaps. • Nonprofit voters outperformed their counterparts across all

demographic groups studied. • See more at: http://

www.nonprofitvote.org/evaluating-the-impact-of-nonprofits-on-voter-turnout.html#sthash.EcQY7K3p.dpuf

Results from NonProfit Vote’s Track the Vote 2012

Results from Community Health Vote 2012

Overall Turnout CHC Turnout50%

55%

60%

65%

70%

75%

80%

68%

75%

Voter Turnout in the 2012 Election

Results from Community Health Vote 2012

Asian & Other Black White Hispanic 50%

55%

60%

65%

70%

75%

80%

57%

64%

71%

54%

68%

78%

73% 74%

Voter Turnout by Race

Overall Turnout CHC Turnout

Less than $25k $25k - $49k More than $50k50%

55%

60%

65%

70%

75%

80%

53%

64%

73%72%74%

79%

Voter Turnout by Income

Overall Turnout CHC Turnout

Results from Community Health Vote 2012

The Opportunity Presented by the ACA

The upcoming implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will bring millions of Americans into Community Health Centers and other social service agencies. It offers a unique opportunity to integrate voter registration into health insurance enrollment services.

Many health centers and other agencies already offer ongoing non-partisan voter registration assistance as part of their Medicaid and WIC application and renewal process to comply with the National Voter Registration Act. We will now have a chance to offer this same service to millions more people.We can implement the same voter registration process whether it is required by the NVRA or

not.

Understand and Think Through the Process

1. Most people will not “wander in” to enroll. They will be contacted (probably more than once) and will need to be reminded to bring documentation

2. Applications assistance is a service of the agency for it’s clients. So is Voter Registration

3. The application process, at least at the beginning, is likely to be separate from the plan selection process

4. Applicants will need to fill out one online form already5. Application and plan selection assistance will be one-on-one6. The health center or other agency is likely already a trusted

source, so we have a unique opportunity to provide the additional service of assisting in voter registration

The Question is at the End of the Application Process

Application for Health Coverage & Help Paying Costs (Short Form)

Challenges and Objections

The application and the enrollment process may already be long and confusing, now we add voter registration:• One more thing for staff to do

Enrollment, not registration is the priority• More questions for assisters/navigators to answer• One more form for the patient to fill out

Why registerWill they be willing to fill out one more form

• Turning in the formsSomeone on staff has to make sure this is done

• Others – we’ll find out

Overcoming the Challenges

1. Make the registration process simpler and faster2. Integrate the registration message into the outreach

message3. Have simple materials explaining and encouraging

registration available and throughout the site4. Create a VR resource team: one or two people at the

center trained to answer questions as a resource for Outreach & Enrollment workers.

5. Provide ongoing training & Technical Assistance to enrollment and other staff on how to ask about voter registration and the process itself

Making it Easier and More Efficient

Treat VR as another service you are offering, not as some unrelated activity. Ask more than once.

Use a simple voter registration interface: ours is athttp://www.saveourchcs.org/register-to-vote.cfm

Include VR in your outreach message and advertise it throughout the site so they are expecting it:

“When you come into the health center to apply for insurance we can also help you become a registeredvoter or update your registration”

Have a system for collecting and submitting completed forms.

NACHC, FELN and Nonprofit VOTE Will Provide Support

An Online Training Module for Enrollment and other staff

Legal information on state and federal requirementsOnline Registration portal (to create one for your

agency contact Amanda Brown at Rock the Vote: amanda.brown@rockthevote.com)

On the ground, in person training and technical assistance in as many places as resources will allow

Feedback is Critical

• This is effort is for the long haul, not just for the first open enrollment period.• There will be problems, questions and glitches along the way• The way the states and the federally facilitated exchanges

view voter registration and implement NVRA compliance will evolve• We need to hear from you

–Are you integrating VR into the application and enrollment process

–What success/problems are you having–What help/training do you need

Have Questions or Need Assistance

Marc WetherhornNational Association of Community Health Centers

mwetherhorn@nachc.org 540-942-3862

Bob BrandonFair Elections Legal Network

rbrandon@fairelectionsnetwork.com 202-331-0114

George PillsburyNonProfit Vote

gpillsbury@nonprofitvote.org 617-357-8683