Brennan Center for Justice

The following is a compilation of support for voter registration modernization, sometimes referred to as universal voter registration. Click for news articles, editorials, op-eds and blogs, and other media.

  Editorials | Op-Eds & Blogs | News | Other Media

Editorials

• Sound Model 'To Fix That' (The Scranton Times-Tribune, 11/17/12)
• Online Voter Registration System is Long Overdue (Sacramento Bee, 05/01/2011)
• Online Voter Sign-ups Overdue in California (Sacramento Bee, 08/24/2010)
• Taking Tech into the Voting Arena: State on Track with Online Registration (Tribune-Star, 07/07/2010)
• A Better Way (Columbus Dispatch, 11/14/2009)
• Remove Ballot Barriers for Students, Military (The Virginian-Pilot, 09/21/2009)
• Voter Registration Reforms Can Aid Turnout, Lower Costs (Charlotte Observer, 09/03/2009)
• Vote for This: A Bipartisan Chance to Repair an Antiquated Registration System (Washington Post, 08/31/2009)
• Election Day Registration: The District's Smart Proposal Has Only One Flaw (Washington Post, 07/27/2009)
• The Right Way to Register Voters (The New York Times, 07/24/2009)
• 'Aye' for Getting More Americans Registered to Vote (Kansas City Star, 07/05/2009)
• Weak Citizens (Charleston Gazette (W. Va.), 07/04/2009)
• Register Everybody (Roll Call, 06/29/2009)
• Modernizing the Vote (Baltimore Sun, 06/22/2009)
• Reviving the Motor Voter Law (New York Times, 04/10/2009)
• Still Broken (New York Times, 03/17/2009)
• Shut Out at the Polls (Washington Post, 03/16/2009)
• Put an End to Election Messes (Boston Globe, 11/14/2008)
• Recent Election Shows Need for New Early Voting Options (The Flint Journal, 11/13/2008)
• A Better Vote (Washington Post, 11/09/2008)
• Automatic Voter Registration (El Diario NY, 11/08/2008)
• Lesson: Make Voter Registration Easier (The Swarm Blog, Sacramento Bee, 11/03/2008)
• Restore Trust in Voter Rolls (Christian Science Monitor, 10/22/2008)

Op-Eds and Blogs

• Let's Make Sure Every Voter Matters (Mary Sanchez, Kansas City Star, 11/16/12)
• Needed -- a 21st Century Voter Registration System for California (Dean Logan and R. Michael Alvarez, San Francisco Chronicle, 05/29/2011)
• Shift Maryland's Motor Voter Law into High Gear (John Tanner, The Baltimore Sun, 03/02/2011) 
• Reliable Registration is Key to Voting (John Tanner, The News & Observer, 12/22/2010)
• Is Online Voter Registration the Future? (David Orr, Huffington Post, 07/01/2010)
• Protect Voter Gains of 'Bloody Sunday' (Donna Brazile, CNN, 03/07/2010)
• Voter Registration: Time to Trade in Our Costly Clunker (John Lindback, The Oregonian, Oregon Live, 12/21/2009)
• A Bipartisan Voting Victory (Eliza Newlin Carney, National Journal, 11/30/2009)
• Bipartisan Support for Bringing Voter Registration to the 21st Century Underway (Project Vote, TPM Reader Blog, 11/12/2009)
• Securing the Vote for All (Rear Adm. James J. Carey, Washington Times, 11/11/2009)
• Bipartisan Beltway Committee Seeks to "Modernize" U.S. Election System (Tom Intorcio, The Thicket at State Legislatures, 11/10/2009)
• Voter Registration Reform Could Dampen Disputes (Lawrence Norden, Columbus Dispatch, 10/29/2009)
• Democracy in a Mobile America (Scott Novakowski, Demos Ideas | Action Blog, 10/12/2009)
• Time for a Big Overhaul (Ken Blackwell, Washington Times, 10/05/2009)
• A Right to Vote: Modernizing Voter Registration (Tova Wang, Demos Ideas | Action Blog, 10/01/2009)
• Voting Overhaul Slow to Register (Emily Cadei, CQ Weekly, 09/21/2009)
• Congress Can Better Voter Registration (Marc Elias and Trevor Potter, Roll Call, 09/14/2009)
• Lawmakers Must Cross Aisle On Vote Reforms (Eliza Newlin Carney, National Journal, 09/08/2009)
• A Bipartisan Consensus on Voter Registration? (Emily Esfahani Smith, Weekly Standard Blog, 09/01/2009)
• New Bipartisan Group Calls for Voter Registration Reform (Dan Eggen, Washington Post 44 Blog, 08/31/2009)
• Bipartisan Group Looks to Reshape Voter Registration (Bernie Becker, New York Times Caucus Blog, 08/31/2009)
• Selective Service Provides a Model for Improved Voter Registration (Jessica Loudis, The Hill, 08/04/2009)
• America's National Embarrassment (Wendy Weiser and Margaret Chen, Foreign Policy, 07/29/2009)
• Voting Obstacles Suppress Military Vote (Adam Skaggs, U.S. News and World Report, 07/27/2009)
• Automatic Voter Registration is the Way to Go (John Tanner, Indianapolis Star 07/19/2009)
• Can We Register Voters Better? Yes. (Wendy Weiser & Margaret Chen, Huffington Post, 07/10/2009)
• Voter-Registration System is Long Overdue for Reform (Robert Bauer & Trevor Potter, Arizona Daily Star, 06/29/2009)
• A New Page for Voting (Robert Bauer & Trevor Potter, Washington Post, 06/25/2009)
• Get 'Em (Ready to Vote) While They're Young (Rob Ritchie, Huffington Post, 05/27/2009)
• A Call for Universal Voter Registration (Katrina Vanden Heuvel, The Nation, 05/22/2009)
• First, Reform Voter Registration (Tom Vellenga & Erin Sapp, Minneapolis Star Tribune, 05/22/2009)
• Expanding Voter Participation: The Roadmap is Clear (Page Gardner, Huffington Post, 04/29/2009)
• Making the District More of a Democracy (Adam Fogel, Washington Post, 04/19/2009)
• Voting Reform Gets New Life (Eliza Newlin Carney, National Journal, 04/13/2009)
• Voter Registration System Needs to Be Modernized (Robin Carnahan & Trey Grayson, Roll Call, 03/10/2009)
• The U.S. is Ready for Election Reform (Bill Boyne, Post-Bulletin (Minn.), 02/03/2009)
• Make Voting Easier (Andrea Senteno, Gotham Gazette, 01/29/2009)
• Making Democracy a Priority (Michael Waldman, TPM Cafe, 01/23/2009)
• Harnessing Politics to Fix Politics (Heather Gerken, TPM Cafe, 01/23/2009)
• Rescuing the Constitution (Frank Askin, NJ Voices Blog, 01/20/2009)
• Toward a Better Registration System (Eliza Newlin Carney, National Journal, 12/15/2008)
• More Than the Vote (Stuart Comstock-Gay & Joe Goldman, American Prospect, 12/12/2008)
• Automatic Voter Registration Would Solve Many Ills (Robyn Blumner, Columbus Post-Dispatch, 11/25/2008)
• Consensus Builds for Universal Voter Registration (Project Vote, AlterNet, 11/19/2008)
• Reality Check (William Schneider, National Journal, 11/15/2008)
• Charity's Agenda for the New President (Larry Ottinger, Chronicle of Philanthopy, 11/13/2008)
• Election Reform Can't Wait (Eliza Newlin Carney, National Journal, 11/10/2008)
• Voting in 2008: Lessons Learned (Tova Wang, Taking Note (Century Foundation Blog), 11/10/2008)
• Reforming Registration (Dan Tokaji, Equal Vote Blog, 11/07/2008)
• Electing the President in 2012 (Richard L. Hasen, FindLaw.com, 11/04/2008)
• How Business Can Help Insure a Smooth Election (Michael Kieschnick, San Francisco Chronicle, 11/03/2008)
• End the 'Voter Fraud' Debate (Joel Barkin & Christian Smith-Socaris, The Nation, 10/31/2008)
• Feds Must Modernize Voter Registration to End Fraud (Rob Ritchie & Adam Fogel, Atlanta Journal Constitution, 10/30/2008)
• Registering Doubt (Richard L. Hasen, Slate, 10/27/2008)
• Eight Years After Bush v. Gore, Why is There Still So Much Election Litigation and What Does This Mean for Voter Confidence in the Electoral Process? (Richard L. Hasen, FindLaw.com, 10/20/2008)
• We Need Universal Voter Registration (Krist Novoselic, The Daily Weekly Blog, Seattle Weekly, 10/13/2008)
• Fixing the Vote: How to Keep New Voters Enfranchised (Michael Waldman, Newsweek.com, 06/06/2008)
• Voter Registration Needs Work (Michael Caudell-Faegan, Lawrence Journal-World & News, 09/20/2007)
• Let's Give a Swift Kick to the Rumpocracy (Steven Hill, San Francisco Chronicle, 01/29/2007)
• A Democracy Agenda for the Democrats (Steven Hill & Rob Ritchie, Providence Journal, 11/24/2006)
• Remember to Vote, Hope it Counts (Michael Waldman, Wendy Weiser & OPEN NY, New York Times, 10/30/2006)
• Is Your Vote Being Counted? (Neal Pierce, Seattle Times, 10/02/2006)
• Voters' Ed (John B. Anderson & Ray Martinez III, New York Times, 04/06/2006)
• What Baker-Carter Got Right (Rob Ritchie & Steven Hill, TomPaine.com, 09/27/2005)

News

• MVA to Overhaul Voter Registration Process (Annie Linskey, The Baltimore Sun, 03/20/2011)
• Online Voter Registration On The Rise (Scott Sarvay, Indiana News Center, 09/02/2010)
• Online Voter Registration Now Available in Clark County (KTNV News, 09/01/2010)
• State to Promote Online Voter Registration in September (Joseph M. Dougherty, Deseret News, 08/21/2010)
• California's Online Voter Registration Plan on Hold (Patrick McGreevy, Los Angeles Times, 08/21/2010)
• 2,500 Register to Vote Online (Niki Kelly, The Journal Gazette, 08/10/2010)
• 'Motor Voter' Law Likely to be Bigger Priority for States (Richard Wolf, USA Today, 07/22/2010)
• 5,000 Utilize New Colorado Voter Website (Burt Hubbard, Denver Post, 07/06/2010)
• County, State Officials Hail Online Voter Registration (Sara Castellanos, Aurora Sentinel, 03/30/2010)
• Panel Urges Modernization of Wisconsin Voters Laws, Restoration of Felon's Voting Rights (WisPolitics, 12/16/2009)
• Election Bill Aims at Vote Disputes (Columbus Dispatch, 11/14/2009)
• Voting Reform Finds Bipartisanship (Roll Call, 10/26/2009)
• Bipartisan Plan Would End ACORN Electioneering (Washington Times, 09/01/2009)
• Democratic, Republican Election Lawyers Join to Support Voter Registration Initiative (BNA, 08/31/2009)
• DC Power Brokers Launch Effort for Federal Voter Registration Help (The Hill, 08/31/2009)
• Election Lawyers, Politicians Kick Off Drive to Modernize Voter Registration (Roll Call, 08/31/2009)
• Alex Aronson, The Bus Project (The Nation, 01/28/2009)
• Big Margins Sidetrack Election Reform (Miller-McCune, 12/04/2008)
• An Election Reformer's Wish List (National Journal, 11/19/2008)
• The Morning After, Voting Problems Remain (National Journal, 11/19/2008)
• The Voting Problems Aren't Over (AmLaw Daily, 11/11/2008)
• A Call to Overhaul Nation's Voter Registration Process (Los Angeles Times, 11/10/2008)
• Is Universal Voter Registration the Solution? (New Mexico Independent, 11/07/2008)
• Push to Expand Voter Rolls and Early Balloting in U.S. (New York Times, 11/06/2008)
• Election Gives Early-Balloting Initiatives a Boost (USA Today, 11/06/2008)
• Voting Problems Mean Reforms Still Needed, Advocates Say (Gannett News Service, 11/05/2008)
• Paid Voter Registration Drive Causes Headaches for Louisiana Voter Registrars (electionline.org, 08/14/2008)

Other Media

• Political Foes Team Up To Improve Voter Registration (NPR, 11/03/2009)
• Hotline To Help Secure Voters' Rights On Nov. 4 (NPR, 10/28/2008)
• The Electoral College And Other Hazards (Interview with Rob Ritchie, National Journal, 10/23/2008)
• Red Flag on Purging Voter Rolls (Pia Malbran, CBS Evening News, 09/30/2008)