Import Voter Data

Step 1. Verify that Mailing Addresses Do Not Contain Commas

The presence of a comma causes the data that follows the comma to shift one column to the right in the export file. (If you are familiar with delimited text file structure, this is due to the comma being treated as a delimiter to separate fields.) This column shift causes an error when the file is imported in STAR because the data is in the wrong position.

To determine if there are mailing addresses that contain a comma:

1. Run the (OLRV) "Official List of Registered Voters" report in TEAM to include all mailing addresses.
2. Identify the voters with addresses that contain one or more commas.
3. Make the correction edits in TEAM by removing the comma(s).
4. After exporting the corrected OLRV file from TEAM, when importing the file in STAR, select the Ignore Mailing State/Postal Code Validation Errors option. See step 5 in Import the Data below for more information.

Alternatively, you can also go ahead and export the data from TEAM, and then do the STAR import. For each import error, STAR shows the lines in the file with improper data. This is another way you can locate overseas addresses with commas that you can then go back to TEAM and correct.

Example:

Step 2. Export the Data

When exporting the Official List of Registered Voters, make sure to do the following in TEAM:

• Run the FULL “Official List of Registered Voters” (OLRV) list. The full complete list of voters who are eligible to vote in the election must be included each time an import is done so no voters are removed from the election. See Re-importing Voters for the Same Election below for more information.
• Select Show Mailing Address to include the voter’s mailing addresses.
• Select to include the Ballot Styles.
• Select the CSV format type.

After exporting voter data from TEAM, open the CSV file and scroll down the page to verify that each row of data includes values in at least the following columns:

Column	Header	Data
C	PCT_CODE	Precinct code
D	LAST_NAME	Last name
E	FIRST_NAME	First name
L	VUID	Voter Unique Identifier
M	RES_ADDR	Residence address - street
N	RESIDENT_CITY	Residence address - city
O	RESIDENT_ZIP_CODE	Residence address - ZIP code
P	DATE_OF_BIRTH	Birth date
Q	LABEL	Ballot style code
R	MAIL_ADRS_1	Mailing address - street
T	MAIL_CITY	Mailing address - city
U	MAIL_PROVINCE	State code, province, or country
V	MAIL_POSTAL_CODE	Mail address - postal code
AA	DIST_TYPE	District type code
AB	DIST_CODE	District code number

Important Special Considerations

Although all the columns above require valid data, pay special attention to the address columns M, N, O, R, T, U, and V and the ballot style code column Q.

• Mailing Addresses—Verify if any mailing addresses are entered in a single column. You must manually edit these addresses in the CSV file before importing; otherwise, a STAR import error occurs. Separate the components of the foreign address in their respective columns, using column U, MAIL_PROVINCE, for the country name.
• Ballot Style Codes—There may be instances where the ballot style has not been generated in TEAM and is therefore excluded from the CSV file. Verify each row includes the valid ballot style in column Q.

To import voter data into STAR, do the following:

1. Click Import Voters on the Home screen.

2. Select the election that the voters are associated with.

   

3. Click Choose File to browse to and select the CSV file.
Note: In Windows File Explorer, the file type is listed as Microsoft Excel Comma Separated Values File.
4. If the election day is in 30 days or less, by default, the import does not add or remove voters; it only updates the mailing address of existing voters. To bypass this default and force the import to also add and remove voters, select Ignore 30 Day Deadline.
Important:
• Ignoring the deadline can potentially lead to invalid voter and ballot data.
• Any requests associated with voters previously imported for the selected election will be deleted by the re-import.
5. If you removed commas from voter mailing addresses before exporting from TEAM (see Before Exporting from TEAM above), select Ignore Mailing State/Postal Code Validation Errors. This selection is needed because the comma removal also removes the state/postal code data from the export file, which otherwise produces STAR import errors.
6. Click Submit. The total number of voter records that will be added to STAR, updated in STAR, and removed from STAR by the import displays.



• Add. Total number of voter records that do not exist in STAR for the selected election and will be added by the import.
• Update. Total number of voter records that exist in STAR for the selected election that will be updated by the import because there is new or changed address information in the import file.
• Remove. Total number of voter records that will be removed from STAR for the selected election because they do not exist in the import file.

If this is not the first import for the selected election, verify the numbers are what you expect. See Re-importing Voters for the Same Election below for more information.

7. Click Continue. Data from the CSV file is imported to STAR and will be used to do the following:

   • Fill ABBM applications with applicable voter information.

   • Process returned applications.

   • Process returned ballots.

   • Create bar codes and mailing labels.

   • Fill request and ballot rejection letters.

   • Record and export voter history.

If the import does not find expected data, STAR displays the row number(s) and missing data that caused the import error, so you can easily locate and correct the problem.



8. If needed after a successful import, click Print Report to save a record of the import results. The imported report will also be available in your Downloads file on your machine.
9. Click Close to complete the process.

If your county will be processing requests and ballots for multiple elections, repeat the import for the remaining elections. Note after your next import, if voters are eligible to participate in multiple elections, a second voter record is created for each VUID that is re-imported; one record for the first selected election and a second record for the second selected election. Each time you import a VUID for a new election, a new voter record is created for that election.

• Mailing Address 1 is required—Occurs when the OLRV report does not include the voter’s mailing address.
  • To correct: The report must be re-created to include the mailing address, and then imported into STAR.

• Ballot Style is required—Occurs when the OLRV report is created before the ballot styles have been assigned in TEAM for this election.
  • To correct: The OLRV list must be re-created after the ballot styles have been generated in TEAM, and then imported into STAR.

• Mailing State/Province is required—Typically occurs for voters with an overseas mailing address that has a comma in the City, State, Zip code mailing field on the voter's TEAM record. The comma in this field causes the voter’s information to be misaligned on the report. Here’s an example of a TEAM record with a misaligned mailing address.

  

  • To correct: Remove any commas from the City, State, Zip code field in TEAM. When the report is re-created, the information will align correctly, but it’s possible that the state or ZIP code field will be empty. If this is the case, when importing your voter list, select the Ignore Mailing State/Postal Code Validation Errors box when importing the voter list into STAR.

You can re-import voters for the same election.

When re-importing voters:

• Select the correct election.
• Do not re-import a supplemental list of voters. Include the complete list of voters for the election. You do not want to exclude valid voters in the import file as this will remove the data for those voters from STAR.
• Select Ignore 30 Day Deadline to bypass the default and force the re-import to also add and remove voters.
  • If the election day is in 30 days or less, by default, the re-import does not add or remove voters; it only updates the mailing address of existing voters.

Please note the following behavior:

• Existing voter information is updated.
• Existing voters not included in the latest import file are removed from STAR.
• New voters included in the latest import file are added to STAR.