Two bills up for consideration in Nevada this week give the state a chance to take leaps forward, expanding voting rights and making voter registration easier and more cost-effective.

Twenty-five percent of citizens who attempted to register to vote at Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) offices in Maryland in the past four years were not properly added to the voting rolls, the Baltimore Sun reported last week.  During that period, 120,000 citizens who submitted change-of-address information at the MVA did not have their voting records updated.  And alarmingly, officials at the Maryland State Board of Elections told the Sun that about 622,165 Maryland residents who are qualified to vote are not registered to do so.

As many state legislatures prepare to convene in January, lawmakers across the country – especially the newly elected – are preparing to roll back voting rights.  For some, voter ID is the top priority, reflected in pre-filed bills this past month.  This is puzzling considering the great number of pressing problems facing the states and the fact that there is little evidence the kind of voter fraud targeted by ID laws is a significant issue.

Summer conference season is upon us. Every summer (even in election years), our nation’s busy election officials take a “break” from the day-to-day business of running elections and get together to share information and discuss how to improve election administration. A consistent point of discussion among state election officials at these gatherings has been how to save money yet improve the voter registration system.