Happy National Voter Registration Day!
The midterm elections are coming up! Are you registered to vote? (You can register online.) Today might be a good day to sign up. Across the country, from Wilmington, DE to Cambridge, MA to Cincinnati, OH, volunteers will be registering people to vote as a part of National Voter Registration Day. Celebrities such as Russel Simmons and Fergie Duhamel have even joined the effort, promoting the day via Twitter with the hashtag "#CelebrateNVRD."
According to the official National Voter Registration Day website, "In 2008, 6 million Americans didn't vote because they missed a registration deadline or didn't know how to register. In 2014, we want to make sure no one is left out. This single day of coordinated ?eld, technology and media efforts will create pervasive awareness of voter registration opportunities–allowing us to reach tens of thousands of voters who we could not reach otherwise."
Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley recognized the day in a statement:
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"Government works best when more people participate at the ballot box. We’re doing more, not less, to give young people, the mentally disabled, our military, and so many others the opportunity to make their voices heard in their communities, and exercise what Dr. Martin Luther King called, ‘civil right number one’ — the right to vote.”
In 2013, the Supreme Court struck down the crux of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, allowing nine states — Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia — to change their election laws without advance federal approval. Chief Justice John Roberts explained that Congress can still go on an create new federal oversight on states where voting rights were at risk, but they must do so based on contemporary data.
Weigh in on Bills Relating to Voter Registration
- HR 12
(And S 123 in the Senate.) To modernize voter registration, promote access to voting for individuals with disabilities, protect the ability of individuals to exercise the right to vote in elections for Federal office. According to the bill sponsor, "The right to vote is precious, almost sacred. Too many people in this country had to give their lives to exercise a right already guaranteed them by the Constitution. Outlawing the poll tax 49 years ago does not mean we are finished protecting democratic freedom. New challenges to equal access still arise today. To be a credible voice for equal justice abroad, we must be watchful here at home to alleviate every historic and current impediment to the democratic process."
- HR 2829
Restoring Important Voter Eligibility Requirements to States Act
To amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to require an applicant for voter registration for elections for Federal office to affirmatively state that the applicant meets the eligibility requirements for voting in such elections as a condition of completing the application, to require States to verify that an applicant for registering to vote in such elections meets the eligibility requirements for voting in such elections prior to registering the applicant to vote.
- S 85
A bill to provide incentives for States to invest in practices and technology that are designed to expedite voting at the polls and to simplify voter registration. According to the bill sponsor, "the November 2012 elections were a wake-up call. Tens of thousands of Americans, including Republicans and Democrats in both 'red states' and 'blue states,' saw their fundamental right to vote for the candidate of their choice eroded by exceptionally long lines and confusing procedures in well over a dozen states. It does not have to be this way. We can pass the FAST Voting Act to accelerate the adoption of efficient and effective practices for administering elections."
- S 2865
Voter Registration Modernization Act
To provide for voter registration through the Internet. According to the bill sponsor, "voting is one of our most sacred rights as Americans. Instead of adding new burdens, we should make voting easy for millions of people. Bringing our nation’s antiquated voter registration system into the 21st century is common sense. My legislation will strengthen New York’s efforts to make every vote count. We must ensure that all states have secure online voter registration in order to make every voice heard at the ballot box."
- S 1336
Permitting States to require proof of citizenship for voter registration in Federal elections
To permit States to require proof of citizenship for registration to vote in elections for Federal office. According to the bill sponsor, "The right to vote is a fundamental building block of our nation’s democratic process and it is crucial that we have the measures in place to uphold the integrity of our elections. This bill ensures that states can enforce the commonsense requirement that those registered to vote must actually be U.S. citizens."
- HR 2115
Voter Registration Efficiency Act
To amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to require an individual who applies for a motor vehicle driver’s license in a new State to indicate whether the new State is to serve as the individual’s residence for purposes of registering to vote in elections for Federal office.
- HR 1280
To amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to increase the penalties imposed for intimidating, threatening, or coercing any person from engaging in voter registration activities or for procuring, submitting, or casting false voter registration applications or ballots, to require election officials to transmit voter registration cards and absentee ballots to voters in elections for Federal office through the use of the automated tagging and tracing services provided by the United States Postal Service.
- S 532
According to the bill sponsor, "The right to vote is the foundation of effective democratic government. Voting is the only true way the American people can ensure their elected leaders are held accountable for their actions and decisions, and we should be doing everything we can to foster this right."
- S 2235
A bill to secure the Federal voting rights of persons when released from incarceration. According to the bill sponsor, "The Democracy Restoration Act would restore voting rights in federal elections to approximately 5.8 million citizens who have been released from prison and are back living in their communities…The legislation would restore voting rights to prisoners after their release from incarceration. It requires that prisons receiving federal funds notify people about their right to vote in federal elections when they are leaving prison, sentenced to probation, or convicted of a misdemeanor."
- HJRes 44
A Constitutional Right to Vote
Proposing an amendment to the US Constitution regarding the right to vote. "Every citizen of the United States, who is of legal voting age, shall have the fundamental right to vote in any public election held in the jurisdiction in which the citizen resides."
- HCRes 17
National Voting Rights Act Mobilization Day
Expressing the sense of Congress that a day should be designated as “National Voting Rights Act Mobilization Day."
