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Federal and State Legislative Responses to Voter Registration

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The Administration of Voter Registration

Part of the book series: Elections, Voting, Technology ((EVT))

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Abstract

How have states responded to federal voter registration reforms, and how have they modernized voter registration structures to supplement federal mandates? The purpose of this chapter is to document the institutional supply of voter registration across the states and determine whether there is a relationship between the supply of voter registration and voter registration gaps across the states. I argue that while voter registration reforms are designed to facilitate the voter registration process, they may not all influence voter registration in a uniform manner. There are reasons to expect that more reforms positively impact voter registration, which is a first step in explaining why and how states are able to narrow voter registration gaps over time. Institutional design is important because it may create administrative challenges in managing new and existing registered voters.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Cha, Mijin. May 20, 2013. “Registering Millions: Celebrating the Success and Potential of the National Voter Registration Act at 20.” Demos.org. Available at: http://www.demos.org/registering-millions-success-and-potential-national-voter-registration-act-20.

  2. 2.

    Federal Election Commission. 1997. “The Impact of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 on the Administration of Elections for Federal Office 1995–1996.” Available at: https://www.eac.gov/assets/1/6/The%20Impact%20of%20the%20National%20Voter%20Registration%20Act%20on%20Federal%20Elections%201995-1996.pdf.

  3. 3.

    According to Knack (1998), the pre-1992 Motor Voter states are Arizona, Colorado, DC, Michigan, Montana, North Carolina, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. In Hanmer’s (2009) analysis Colorado, DC, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas, and Washington.

  4. 4.

    According to Piven and Cloward (2000), active implementation of Motor Voter prior to the NVRA involved offering voter registration when the potential registrants renew their driver’s license, as well as when they renew their voter registration information in-person and by mail (Hanmer 2009, 108).

  5. 5.

    The states who reported having adopted agency registration prior to the NVRA are Alaska, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Nevada, and New York.

  6. 6.

    According to Hanmer (2009, 108), “although Maine had EDR, because EDR transactions were not required to take place at polling places, Maine was not exempt from the NVRA.”

  7. 7.

    Federal Election Commission. 1997. “The Impact of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 on the Administration of Elections for Federal Office 1995–1996.” Available at: https://www.eac.gov/assets/1/6/The%20Impact%20of%20the%20National%20Voter%20Registration%20Act%20on%20Federal%20Elections%201995-1996.pdf.

  8. 8.

    Minnesota, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Idaho, and New Hampshire (FEC 1997).

  9. 9.

    It is not clear whether exemption from the NVRA as a whole due to EDR would limit any other aspect of voter registration that the NVRA attempts to cover. Minnesota, for example, citizens can register online, by mail, or on Election Day. EDR is supplementing voter registration by mail and in-person by expanding the citizens’ opportunity to register. If there are issues with a first-time voter’s registration materials on Election Day, it is guaranteed that she will not vote on Election Day. In that case, wouldn’t EDR be under scrutiny if Minnesota (or any other state with EDR) was not exempt from the NVRA?

  10. 10.

    California, Illinois, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Michigan were among the states that challenged the constitutionality of the NVRA. After the intervention of the Department of Justice, all challenges were “virtually finished twelve months after the law went into effect” (Piven et al. 2009, 122).

  11. 11.

    The U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division. September 22, 1997. “Voting Determination Letter.” Available at: https://www.justice.gov/crt/voting-determination-letter-22.

  12. 12.

    As demonstrated in the previous chapter, data reporting issues may result in misleading estimates of gaps in voter registration across states and localities.

  13. 13.

    Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. July 13, 2018. “Mississippi Secretary of State Agrees to Comply with 30 Day Voter Registration Deadline for Federal Runoff Elections.” Available at: https://lawyerscommittee.org/press-release/mississippi-secretary-of-state-agrees-to-comply-with-30-day-voter-registration-deadline-for-federal-runoff-elections/.

  14. 14.

    “The U.S. Election Assistant Commission, NVRA Related Documents: Citizenship Instructions on the National Mail Voter Registration Form.” Available at: https://www.eac.gov/voters/nvra-related-documents/.

  15. 15.

    U.S. Election Assistance Commission Letter to Mr. Caskey, Available at: http://www.eac.gov/assets/1/Documents/KS.Elec.Dir.NVRA.1.29.16.OCR.Today.pdf. This issue is still debated, as EAC’s Commissioner, Vice Chair Thomas Hicks, stated after the letter was issued that such accommodations contradict EAC policy and precedent established by the Commission: http://www.eac.gov/assets/1/Documents/Statement%20by%20Commissioner%20Hicks%20NVRA%20Form%20(2-2-16)-1.pdf.

  16. 16.

    “ACLU Files Lawsuit on Behalf of Thousands of Kansans Blocked from Voting over Illegal Documentation Requirement.” Aclu.org. Available at: https://www.aclu.org/news/aclu-files-lawsuit-behalf-thousands-kansans-blocked-voting-over-illegal-documentation.

  17. 17.

    “Judge Tosses Kansas’ Proof-Of—Citizenship Voter Law and Rebukes Secretary of State Kobach.” June 19, 2018. NPR. Available at: https://www.npr.org/2018/06/19/621304260/judge-tosses-kansas-proof-of-citizenship-voter-law-and-rebukes-sec-of-state-koba.

  18. 18.

    Arizona Secretary of State, “Proof of Citizenship Requirements.” Available at: https://azsos.gov/elections/voting-election/proof-citizenship-requirements.

  19. 19.

    Brennan Center for Justice. January 23, 2013. “The Case for Voter Registration Modernization.” Available at: http://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/publications/Case%20Voter%20Registration%20Modernization.pdf.

  20. 20.

    “Online Voter Registration.” February 3, 2020. National Conference of State Legislatures. Available at: https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/electronic-or-online-voter-registration.aspx.

  21. 21.

    “Vermont Governor Signs Bipartisan Voter Registration Bill.” Brennan Center for Justice. Available at: https://www.brennancenter.org/press-release/vermont-governor-signs-bipartisan-automatic-voter-registration-bill.

  22. 22.

    Alaska, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Maine, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

  23. 23.

    “History of AVR & Implementation Dates.” January 17, 2020. Brennan Center for Justice. Available at: https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/history-avr-implementation-dates.

  24. 24.

    Leonard, Lloyd. 2014. “The Problem with Online Voter Registration.” Lwv.org. Available at: http://lwv.org/blog/problem-online-voter-registration.

  25. 25.

    “Automatic Voter Registration.” National Conference of State Legislatures. Available at: http://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/automatic-voter-registration.aspx.

  26. 26.

    Mitchell, Olivia. March 12, 2020. “Lawmakers Again Call for Suspension of Automatic Voter Registration.” Nprillinois.org. Available at: https://www.nprillinois.org/post/lawmakers-again-call-suspension-automatic-voter-registration#stream/0.

  27. 27.

    Fessler, Pam. February 26, 2019. “Some Noncitizens Do Wind Up Registered to Vote, But Usually Not on Purpose.” Npr.org. Available at: https://www.npr.org/2019/02/26/697848417/some-noncitizens-do-wind-up-registered-to-vote-but-usually-not-on-purpose.

  28. 28.

    “Preregistration for Young Voters.” February 12, 2019. National Conference of State Legislatures. Available at: https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/preregistration-for-young-voters.aspx.

  29. 29.

    “Same Day Voter Registration.” June 28, 2019. National Conference of State Legislatures. Available at: http://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/same-day-registration.aspx.

  30. 30.

    The Pearson’s correlation coefficients between the NVRA and the voter registration gap for 2004, 2008, and 2012 are −.241, −.225, and −.196, respectively.

  31. 31.

    States with NVRA and EDR are coded as 1, while exempt states as well as NVRA only states are coded as 0.

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  1. Department of Political Science & Public Administration, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS, USA

    Thessalia Merivaki

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Merivaki, T. (2021). Federal and State Legislative Responses to Voter Registration. In: The Administration of Voter Registration. Elections, Voting, Technology. Palgrave Pivot, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-48059-2_3

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