Experts
- Brenda Wright - Director
- Lisa J. Danetz - Senior Counsel
- Scott Novakowski - Senior Policy Analyst
- Allegra Chapman - Counsel
- Susan Gershon - Counsel
- Youjin B. Kim - Policy Analyst
About National Voter Registration Act
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.
National Voter Registration Act
As We Celebrate Independence Day, Many New Citizens Still Left Out Of American Democracy As the nation celebrates the 234th Independence Day, thousands of immigrants will take the citizenship oath at naturalization ceremonies. Yet, the promise of full participation in our democracy is faulty. Read More | Jun 29, 2010 | Related Resources Learn more about National Voter Registration Act |
Justice Department Issues Guidance on Implementation of National Voter Registration Act In a significant move, the U.S. Department of Justice has issued guidance regarding the National Voter Registration Act, an important federal statute governing voter registration. Read More | Jun 9, 2010 | Related Resources Read the Guidance: Questions & Answers The National Voter Registration Act: Facts at a Glance Learn More about Implementation of the NVRA
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Low-Income Women Benefit From Federal Law Requiring Agency-Based Voter Registration A new report by Demos documents how proper implementation of a 15-year old federal voter registration law has the potential to bring millions of low-income women into the political process. Read More | Mar 31, 2010 | Related Resources Women and the National Voter Registration Act The National Voter Registration Act Learn More about Public Agency Voter Registration |
New Report: States Well-Positioned to Have Automatic Voter Registration at Public Assistance AgenciesIn order to better understand public assistance databases and their ability to facilitate automatic voter registration, Demos conducted a survey of public assistance agencies in 41 states, and recently published the findings.
Read More | Mar 19, 2010 | Related Resources READ: Public Assistance Databases and Automatic Voter Registration |
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