“Voter registration should be the mutual responsibility of citizens and their government. The government should not only facilitate registration; it should actively register adults who are eligible to vote as part of its responsibility to have accurate rolls. 100% voter registration should be the goal. Moreover, universal voter registration has the potential to bring together conservatives who are concerned about fraudulent voter registrations and liberals who are concerned about anemic political participation.”
http://www.fairvote.org/reforms/universal-voter-registration/why-universal-registration/
7 Ways to Universal Voter Registration
- Use existing government databases to automatically register all citizens to vote.
- Create a fail safe policy to ensure voters left off the rolls can register and vote on Election Day.
- Set a uniform voter registration age of 16-years-old to systematically register youth. Tie this policy with a national “voting curriculum” in every high school.
- Require U.S. citizens to register to vote when completing taxes or actively opt-out of the process.
- Tie Post Office Change of Address forms to the voter registration database
- Require state or local governments to send every residence a notice of those registered at that location. Residents may then make changes as needed and return the updated form.
- Provide every U.S. citizen, upon birth or after naturalization, a voter registration number similar to a social security number to be used in all elections and activated when a voter turns 18.
http://www.fairvote.org/reforms/universal-voter-registration/7-ways-to-universal-voter-registration/
Alaska’s republican senators endorse automatic voter registration initiative
Brennan Center – Expanding Democracy: Voter Registration Around the World
Brennan Center – Nearly 1 in 5 Americans May Soon Live in a State with Automatic Voter Registration
Connecticut Unveils First-of-its-Kind Automatic Voter Registration Plan
ABC News – 3 Countries Where It’s Easier To Vote Than the United States
Fair Vote – Center for Voting and Democracy – Why Universal Registration?
CNN – Clinton calls out GOP opponents by name on voting rights
The American Prospect – More Than a Dozen States Eye Automatic Voter Registration
Huffington Post – 2016’s “Missing Voters” Can Be Found With Automatic Voter Registration
MSNBC – Chris Christie vetoes bill to make voting easier
NY Times – Sides Dispute Basis of North Carolina Voting Laws as Trial Contesting Them Opens
Washington Post – Maryland Democrats propose automatic voter registration
Tennant says voter registration will improve in W.Va. thanks to bill signed by the governor
West Virginia Governor Signs Voter ID, Automatic Voter Registration Bill
MSNBC – One state surprises on automatic voter registration
Alabama state lawmakers propose automatic voter registration with driver’s license application
Vermont House approves automatic voter registration
The Atlantic – Automatic Voter Registration Comes to Vermont
The Atlantic – Voting Rights at the Crossroads
Think Progress – Connecticut To Automatically Register 400,000 Voters
DCist – D.C. Council Unanimously Passes Automatic Voter Registration Law