Last Update: March 30, 2015

Dialog Help

Find a Voter

The Find A Voter dialog is used throughout Voter Focus to allow you to search for a voter record.

Search By Name Tab

Use this tab to search for a voter's record or application, or to verify that a record does not already exist when you are registering a new voter.

Note  Some fields are not shown in applications other than Voters.

Last Name (Voter ID)

An entry in this field is required. Click the down arrow to select a record from the last 20 voter records you accessed.

To search for a record, enter either the voter registration ID number or the voter's last name. You can use wildcard characters in the last name. Use the underscore character (_) to replace a single character; use the percent sign (%) to replace multiple characters. Here are some examples:

String with Wildcard(s)

 Finds Voters with these Names

DAV%

 DAVID, DAVE, DAVINIA, DAVIDOV

%VID

 LIVID, TOVID, DAVID

W%SON

 WATSON, WILSON, WASON, WOPSON

J%N%

 JACKSON, JACOBSEN, JENKINS, JOHNSON

D_VID

 DAVID, DOVID, DIVID

If you are entering the name of a new voter, and the last name begins with Mac or Mc, the next letter of the name will automatically be in uppercase when it appears on the application form. For example, entering Maclay will result in MacLay. You can lowercase the letter on the application form, if uppercase is not what you want.

If a voter has a hyphenated surname, such as Adams-Smith, you can search for the full name:

Adams-Smith

or you can use the % wildcard like this:

Adams%

or

%Smith

First Name

An entry in this field is optional. Wildcard characters are permitted.

Middle Name

An entry in this field is optional. Wildcard characters are permitted.

Date of Birth

An entry in this field is optional. Use the format MM/DD/YYYY or MM/DD/YY, where YY is the last two digits of the birth year.

D License

An entry in this field is optional. Enter the voter's Florida driver license or Florida identification number.

Last4SSN

An entry in this field is optional. Enter the last four digits of the voter's social security number.

Local Search

Click to initiate a search against the local database. Pressing the Enter key will also initiate a local search.

FVRS Search

Click to initiate a search against the statewide FVRS system. If the voter is found, their record will appear. For an application or record search, the records of out-of-county voters are read-only; the records of local voters can be updated.

For searches when processing mail returned by voters, you will be able to move an out-of-county voter into your county.

Application Search

Appears when the dialog is accessed from VOTER REGISTRATION > Application Forms.

Click to initiate an application search against the statewide FVRS system when you want to:

  • Create an application for a new voter. The application search not only looks for voter applications that match all the search criteria, but also for those that match some of the search criteria and therefore might be the same person as the applicant.

If any matching records are found, they will be displayed in a color-coded list. You should check each of these records to make sure you are not about to create a duplicate registration for a voter. If none of the matching records are your voter, then click New Voter to display the voter application form and proceed with creation of a new voter registration record.

If the applicant is not found by the application search, the voter application form for a new voter will appear, with the search criteria prefilled in the form.

  • Change a voter's name, residential address, or political party affiliation from an NVRA or FPCA form submitted by the voter. The Application Form search will return the existing voter's application form (as opposed to their existing voter registration record) where you can make the changes indicated on the NVRA/FPCA form. After you save the application form, the changes will appear in the voter's record.

Clear Request Fields

Click to erase any data in currently displayed in the name, date of birth, and driver license fields.

Show Deleted Voters

Select this option to have the search include voters whose status is Deleted. If you do not see this box, you do not have the user permission ShowDeletedVoters.

Local Search by Address Tab

Use this tab to search for a voter when you have an address but cannot read the name on the application form or other document provided by the voter.

An address search can also be useful when you want to see the voters residing at a specific address.

Street Address fields

A value in the Street Name field is required. Voter Focus will return a list of street segments matching your search. You can use wildcard characters (% and _) in the street name. For example:

%hill%

will return all street segment names containing "hill," such as:

Asbury Hill

Grovehill Ct

Phillips Rd

If you enough information to narrow the search for a specific address, Voter Focus will return a list of the voters residing at that address.

You may type a valid Mailing City in the mailing city field or select a city name from the drop-down list. If the mailing city has multiple zip codes, and you do not select a zip code, the search will be for all zip codes in the selected city.

FVRS General Search Tab

On this tab, you can enter various combinations of data to find a voter in the statewide system. For example, entering a birth date and a last name will bring up a list of voters matching those search criteria.

You can use wildcard characters (% and _) in the voter name and street name fields.

Click FVRS Search to initiate the search using the criteria you specify.