Voter Registration Policy

IMG_0588aIn 49 out of 50 states, participating in the American democratic process requires an important first step: registering to vote.

Throughout American history, however, voter registration has frequently been used as a bureaucratic hurdle placed between eligible Americans and the ballot box.

That’s why Project Vote works across the country to ensure simple, fair, equitable voter registration policies that make it easier, not harder, for eligible citizens to register to vote.

From fighting laws that place unfair restrictions on community-based voter registration drives, to advocating for innovations like Automatic Voter Registration, Online Registration, Same-Day Registration, and Permanent-Portable Registration, Project Vote wants to make sure that every eligible American can register to vote.

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Dangerous Election Bills Introduced in Virginia

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The Virginia General Assembly is busily grinding out bills that will make it considerably more difficult for Virginians to cast ballots that count. In recent years, voter ID laws have cropped up in states across the country, aimed to stymie a source of fraud that simply does not exist, and Virginia is no different. Under current law, if a voter does not or cannot produce appropriate identification at the polls, the voter can simply sign a sworn document attesting his or her identity, then cast a regular ballot. Proposed legislation in both the House of Delegates and the Senate aims to take this option away from Virginia voters and place still more stringent restrictions on the kinds of ID that are accepted. Read more

Online Voter Registration: A New and Inexpensive Way to Register Voters?

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Voter registration is becoming easier and more accessible for voting eligible citizens in several states through the growing trend of online voter registration. This new election reform has the potential to be a cost-effective method of enfranchising more Americans, especially as applied to the electronic transmission of applications through voter registration agencies under the National Voter Registration Act. Read more

New Memos Assess Election Laws in 11 States

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In preparation for the 2010 legislative season, Project Vote’s Election Administration (EA) Program is releasing a series of election administration... Read more

Project Vote Joins Petition for High School Registration Regulations in New Jersey

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As part of coalition of voting rights groups, Project Vote and the New Jersey Department of Public Advocate filed a petition with the State Board of Elections today, proposing new regulations to improve and enforce voter registration efforts in New Jersey Schools. Read more

Bipartisan Support for Bringing Voter Registration to the 21st Century Underway

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Not too long ago, the means of accessing and staying on the voter registration rolls was a highly controversial issue that often got lost in a partisan shuffle. However, after more than two million voters were unable to vote due to problems with their voter registration last year, policymakers and advocates on both sides are finally listening. Whether it is extravagant efforts to automate voter registration on the national level or revamping state voting systems to utilize citizens’ access to the Internet, improving voter registration is a glimmering goal in 2009 that brings promise for restoring the democratic process in the years to come. Read more

What “Liberal” Media? Study Shows How Press is Often Manipulated to Serve Right-Wing Agenda

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Media manipulation by the right-wing to influence public perception has been a decade-long tactic to undermine voter registration in America.... Read more

Gov. Schwarzenegger Approves Engaging Young CA Voters Early

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The future of voter registration and civic engagement may just stand a chance. California (a populous state of many voters-to-be) will soon allow all 17-year-old citizens to preregister to vote so that they will be automatically enrolled as legal voters once they turn 18. This newer trend in legislation, which boasts bipartisan support, has recently passed in North Carolina and has been successfully implemented in five other states, including Florida. Read more

How to Make Voter Registration Accessible to All Citizens

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After the 2008 election, voter registration has become a focal point for legislators and advocates from all ends of the spectrum. Whichever way it is sliced, the number of registered eligible voters has still declined since 2004. As multiple problems have been cited as the cause for lowered registration rates (including mobility issues, unequal access to registration opportunities, voter caging, and even so-called apathy), voting rights advocates as well as legislators have been vocal about their solutions. Read more

CA Measure to Improve Youth Voter Engagement Goes to Governor

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The California Legislature approved a bill last week to extend voter registration privileges to 17-year-olds. If signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, the bill would help put California youth on the road to a lifetime of democratic participation. Read more

Ga. Secretary of State Asks DOJ to OK Discriminatory Voter Verification Procedure

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A Georgia voter list maintenance procedure that the Department of Justice shut down as “discriminatory” in May is being brought... Read more