Voter Registration
Expanding access
Our ultimate goal is universal voter registration, with the government taking responsibility for ensuring that every eligible citizen is registered to vote in the correct jurisdiction, rather than placing the responsibility on individuals. We will soon release a report detailing several ways to achieve that ideal.
A key step toward universal registration is Election Day registration, where eligible citizens have the opportunity to register and vote on Election Day. In 43 states, citizens must register well in advance of Election Day, before media coverage really heats up and before candidates seek to educate or engage most citizens in the election. These early deadlines act to exclude eligible citizens who would otherwise be eager to vote. Election Day registration boots turnout by approximately 5–7 points in those states that allow eligible citizens to register on Election Day—with a decreased dependence on provisional ballots and without any reported increase in voter fraud.
The Brennan Center provides research, public education, advocacy, litigation, and legislative counseling for government officials and advocates promoting Election Day Registration. Our efforts have contributed to efforts to establish Election Day registration in at least five different states.
Removing barriers
Although many barriers to voting—like property requirements, literacy tests, and poll taxes—are no longer constitutional, for many eligible citizens, voter registration continues to be a significant obstacle. More than a quarter of voting-age Americans are not registered and thus cannot vote. Voter registration drives conducted by nonpartisan, nonprofit organizations have dramatically increased voter registration rates among groups that have traditionally faced the greatest barriers to voting, including low-income, minority, and young voters. Unfortunately, instead of supporting such efforts, in the past few years a number of states have passed, and others are considering, laws and regulations shutting down or seriously restricting voter registration drives.
The Brennan Center engages in litigation, legislative drafting, and advocacy to remove unnecessary barriers to voter registration drives and to ensure that any regulation of those drives serves voters and protects First Amendment rights. In 2006, the Brennan Center successfully challenged restrictive laws in Florida and Ohio. We also helped to defeat efforts to restrict drives in other states.
Recently, working with a range of different veterans and voting rights groups, the Brennan Center has taken a leading role in advocating legislation aimed at eliminating barriers to registration and voting for American veterans, and ensuring that those who have fought to protect the right to vote are able to exercise it. Click here to learn more.
Common Cause of Colorado, et al. v. Buescher
A coalition of voting rights groups sued the Colorado Secretary of State Mike Coffman (who, upon leaving office, was replaced by Brian Buescher) claiming he illegally removed over 27,000 voters from the rolls. They filed a temporary restraining order to get those names reinstated and to ensure additional names cannot be removed before Election Day.
In 1982, after caging in predominantly African-American and Latino neighborhoods, the Republican National Committee and New Jersey Republican State Committee entered into a consent decree with their Democratic party counterparts.
Van Hollen v. Government Accountability Board
Wisconsin AG, J.B. Van Hollen, claims the state’s Government Accountability Board(GAB) is incompliant with HAVA by not retroactively running database matches and purging voters from registration rolls.
A New Texas Two-Step: One Forward, Two Back
Consensus among Texan legislators on election issues is becoming vanishingly rare. The defeat of H.B. 1457—a bill designed to correct administrative flaws in the voting system—is the latest example.
Last Friday, the NY Senate Elections Committee held a hearing to discuss election reform bills currently before the Senate....
Yesterday, Ohio Sec. of State Jennifer Brunner released to Gov. Ted Strickland and the Ohio General Assembly a “blueprint for enhancing Ohio’s elections”....
Illustrations by Risko
Supreme Court Affirms Voting Rights Act
Today, in a narrow, 8-1 decision, the Supreme Court avoided a constitutional challenge to a key provision of the Voting Rights Act, instead holding in NAMUDNO v. Holder that the small utility district in Austin, Texas that brought the challenge could seek to “bail out” of the Act’s pre-clearance requirements.
Detailed Reports Offer Guidelines for Permanent Voter Registration
Today, two new studies on voter registration for Americans who move show both the feasibility and need to modernize the voter registration system. Tens of millions of Americans move every year, and permanent registration throughout all states would dramatically increase voter participation by millions.
Can the U.S. Register Every Voter?
Brennan Center’s sixteen-country study provides blueprint for U.S. modernization plan.
Testimony of Renée Paradis Before the New York State Elections Committee
Testimony on Senate Bill 4317, which would change the deadline for enrolling in a political party before a primary election, before the New York Senate Elections Committee.
Adam Skaggs before the Illinois House of Representaton
Testimony on legislative trends in election administration delivered before the House Elections Committee.
Wendy Weiser Before the Election Assistance Commission
The Center’s Deputy Director of the Democracy program testifies regarding voter registration databases.
Voter Suppression Incidents 2008
A list of voter suppression incidents from the 2008 election.
Proof of Citizenship Requirements; Chart of State Legislation
In the current session (2009–2010), legislators across the country have begun to propose proof of citizenship requirements for voter registration. The chart here, last updated on 6/29/2009, sets forth the known bills and their current status.
CNN Voter Purges | Wendy Weiser
Wendy Weiser appears on segement in which CNN’s Abbie Boudreau looks into allegations of voter purges.