Americans are a highly mobile people, with more than 30 million citizens moving every year. Statistically, low-income people move more frequently than wealthier individuals.
Because a voter’s eligibility is based on their legal residence, this high mobility rate threatens the ability of eligible voters—particularly low-income individuals—to cast ballots that count.
Permanent portable registration is an innovation that seeks to address this problem by allowing voters who move—within a state where they are already registered—to update their addresses at the polls and vote. This simple change can significantly improve voters’ equal access to the ballot box, and help reduce income disparities in the American electorate.
In the wake of historic interest in voting, and after months of controversy surrounding nonprofit registration drives, America’s leaders, journalists, and voting rights experts are calling for a new registration system that reduces the need for third-party registration drives and shifts responsibility from the individual to government. Read more
To monitor proposed election legislation related to this issue—good and bad—that is moving through state legislatures across the country, use Project Vote's comprehensive Bill Tracking tool here.
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Because a voter’s eligibility is based on their legal residence, this high mobility rate threatens the ability of eligible voters—particularly low-income individuals—to cast ballots that count.