Make Voter Registration Work for Everyone!
We believe that every American should have not only the right to vote, but the opportunity to do so. Help make sure that every eligible voter across America can play a part in our democracy, without being blocked by convoluted new voter registration rules, bureaucratic foul-ups, or dirty tricks.
We're calling on Congress to require the states to take positive steps to register every eligible voter. (You can download our draft policy summary below.) Join our Action Network for universal voter registration, and we’ll keep you posted on the Brennan Center’s ongoing efforts to permanently clear the way for Americans to exercise their right to vote.
Sign me up for the Action Network! Please keep me informed about the Brennan Center's work to end voter registration as we know it, and replace the current patchwork system with a fairer, more uniform voter registration system.
What is universal voter registration?
In a universal voter registration system, it would be the government's obligation to ensure that every eligible citizen was registered to vote. Individual citizens could opt out if they wished, but the registration process itself would no longer serve as a barrier to the right to vote.
Here are some of the important ways that federal policy can and should encourage the states to improve on the current voter registration system:
1. Mandate that the states put systems in place that would phase in universal voter registration, while preserving the states' ability to experiment with different systems.
2. Require states to immediately implement permanent registration, so that voters wouldn't have to re-register if they moved within a state.
3. Require states to implement Election Day registration, as a fail-safe mechanism for eligible voters missing from the voter rolls for any reason.
4. Provide the funding that states would need to ensure that every eligible voter is registered.
