National Voter Registration Act | Modernizing Voter Registration | National Voter Registration Act

• Brenda Wright - Director of Democracy Program
• Lisa J. Danetz - Senior Counsel
• Scott Novakowski - Senior Policy Analyst
• Allegra Chapman - Counsel
• Susan Gershon - Counsel

Congress enacted the National Voter Registration Act in 1993 to increase the number of citizens who register to vote and therefore cast ballots in U.S. elections. Recognizing that the law's "motor voter" provision was unlikely to reach low-income citizens who are less likely to own automobiles, Congress also mandated in Section 7 of the NVRA that voter registration be offered at public assistance agencies. While most states have adopted programs for driver's license-based registration, an increasing body of evidence suggests many states have roundly ignored the public assistance provisions of the law.

Demos and our partners at Project Vote, ACORN, and the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law are collaborating in a National Voter Registration Act Implementation Project, and have worked for the past several years to improve states' compliance with the public assistance provisions of the NVRA through negotiation, technical assistance, and litigation. Our work indicates that full implementation of the NVRA can significantly increase the opportunities for low-income citizens to register to vote and participate in the democratic process.

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