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Research Report

Government Lists: How Ready Are They For Automatic Registration?

  • Laura Seago
June 12, 2009
June 12, 2009

This resource provides information on five categories of government lists that may be used for the purpose of automatically registering eligible citizens to vote: (1) state department of motor vehicles databases; (2) state social service databases; (3) other state lists covering low-income citizens; (4) lists of recipients of state and federal disability benefits; and (5) federal government lists. The lists discussed in this document have some or all of the data elements necessary to register voters; the capacity to share data with other government entities; and, when taken together, the demographic coverage necessary to capture a large proportion of voting-eligible citizens.