Voter Registration Modernization

Our nation’s ramshackle voter registration system does not work for 21st century America. This outdated, paper-based system is not only inefficient and costly, but prone to inaccuracy. Worse, the clunky system leaves off millions of eligible voters or contains errors in their records — such as misspelled names or mistyped addresses — that prevent them from voting or having their votes counted. It is time to harness new technology to modernize our voter registration system — adding more than 50 million eligible Americans to the rolls, permanently.

The Brennan Center’s Voter Registration Modernization proposal is the solution. It requires the government to take responsibility to ensure that every eligible voter is on the rolls, using existing computerized lists. It would cost less (because computerized records are far easier to keep than today’s chaotic piles of paper). And it would also curb the potential for fraud.

How the Brennan Center’s Plan Works

Under the 2002 Help America Vote Act, states put in place computerized voter rolls. But citizens still must fill out paperwork to get onto those lists, and they fall off the rolls when there are errors, or when they move or change their address. Instead, voter registration modernization uses digital technology to pass names of eligible voters from state agencies on to election officials. Citizens are able to register or update their registration online or at the polls.

In recent years, at least 21 states have moved forward to automate voter registration at DMVs, a step supported by officials from both parties. Experiences in the states demonstrate that this increases accuracy and registration rates, minimizes the potential for fraud, and saves money.

In May of 2012, House leadership introduced the Voter Empowerment Act, the first federal bill to include a proposal for voter registration modernization.

  • Please click here for our latest report on paperless registration and how states have moved to modernize their voter registration systems.
  • Please click here for a brief fact sheet on Voter Registration Modernization.
  • Please click here for a PowerPoint presentation on how states have begun the voter registration modernization process.
  • Please click here for an issue brief that outlines suggested components of a bill to modernize the voter registration system
The Brennan Center is helping to lead the effort to modernize our voter registration system to bring it into the 21st century. The following information is available on this webpage:
Hearings & Legislation: Information on federal legislation and Congressional hearings on Voter Registration Modernization, including links to hearing testimony and summaries of legislation can be found here.
News & Opinion: Selected news articles, editorials, op-eds, blog posts, and other media that discuss Voter Registration Modernization.
Research & Publications: Research and publications authored by the Brennan Center and others on aspects of Voter Registration Modernization.
Support for VRM: Election officials, newspapers, and others have expressed support for modernizing our voter registration system. See what they've said here.
Federal Election Reform: Comprehensively catalogs election reform activity at the federal level.