Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley
joined with colleagues today on National Voter Registration Day to co-sponsor
two pieces of legislation that would make it easier for Americans to register
to vote and to know their registration status.
The Same Day Voter Registration Act would require
states to offer same-day registration at polling locations on Election Day and
during early voting. The Stop Automatically Voiding Eligible Voters Off
Their Enlisted Rolls in States (SAVE VOTERS) Act would prohibit states from
removing people from their voting rolls unless the state has obtained
objective, reliable evidence that a voter is ineligible to vote and establishes
notification requirements once a voter is removed. These bills were included as
part of the Freedom to Vote Act, voting rights legislation led by U.S.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and supported by Wyden, Merkley and all Democratic
senators.
“A vibrant and
thriving democracy in our country needs a voter registration system that
encourages participation,” Wyden said. “These bills achieve that goal by removing outdated and unjust
roadblocks that limit the opportunities for Americans to cast a ballot for the
candidate of their choice and to weigh in on local and state measures that
directly affect their lives.”“Voting is at the
heart of our democracy, yet Americans continue to face voter suppression that
makes it harder for people to engage in the process, especially when it comes
to registering and staying registered to vote,” said Senator Merkley. “Creating same-day registration and
prohibiting the purging of eligible voters will help protect every American’s
opportunity to cast a vote no matter where they live in the country.”
The Same Day Voter Registration Act would:
- Require states to offer same day
registration at polling locations on Election Day and during any early voting
period; - Require states to offer same day
registration at all polling places by the 2026 general election, but create a
waiver process to give states until the 2028 general election to comply if
earlier compliance would be impracticable. - Mandate that states have at least
one location per 15,000 registered voters with same day registration by the
2024 general election; and - Ensure that centralized same day
registration locations are reasonably located to serve the voting population
equitably.
In addition to Wyden and Merkley, the Same Day Voter
Registration Act introduced by Klobuchar is cosponsored by Senators Ed
Markey (D-MA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Elizabeth
Warren (D-MA), Bob Casey (D-PA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD),
Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Cory
Booker (D-NJ), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Tim Kaine (D-VA),
Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Angus King (I-ME), and Dianne
Feinstein (D-CA).
The SAVE VOTERS Act would:
- Amend the National Voter
Registration Act to prohibit states from removing people from voting rolls
unless the state has obtained objective and reliable evidence that a person is
ineligible to vote. The legislation would clarify that failure to vote or
respond to election mail would not constitute objective and reliable evidence
of a voter’s ineligibility to vote; - Allow election officials to use
state records to remove voters who have died or permanently moved out of the
state; - Require election officials to send
a notice explaining the grounds for removal within 48 hours of removing voters
from the rolls and provide public notice within 48 hours after any general
program to remove voters; and - Revise the voting procedure for a
voter who failed to report a change of address by allowing a voter who moved
within a state to vote at the polling place of the voter’s current address or
at a central location in the jurisdiction of the local voter registration
office.
In addition to Wyden and Merkley, the Save Voters
Act introduced by Klobuchar is cosponsored by Markey, Warren, Casey, Smith,
Van Hollen, Blumenthal, Gillibrand, Sanders, Hirono, Booker, Murphy, Kaine,
Menendez, and King.
Both bills are endorsed by Democracy 21, Transparency
International U.S., End Citizens United/Let America Vote Action Fund, Common
Cause, Public Citizen, People for the American Way, NETWORK Lobby for Catholic
Social Justice, 20/20 Vision DC, Voices for Progress, and League of Women
Voters.
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