Three bills in the U.S. Senate would make it easier for Americans to register to vote and update registration status.
The Same Day Registration Act, the Stop Automatically Voiding Eligible Voters Off Their Enlisted Rolls in States (SAVE VOTERS) Act and the Register America to Vote Act were mostly included in the Freedom to Vote Act, which advances commonsense federal election standards and campaign finance reforms, and protects American democracy.
“The right to vote is fundamental to American democracy, and every American deserves to have their voice heard at the ballot box,” said U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a former civil rights lawyer, who is a cosponsor. “These three bills will make it easier for Americans to register to vote or update their registration and will protect them from being erroneously removed from the rolls.”
The Same Day Registration Act would:
- Require states to offer same day registration at all polling locations on Election Day and during early voting periods by the 2026 general election;
- Require states to have at least one polling location with same day registration for every 15,000 registered voters by the 2024 general election; and
- Ensure that same day registration locations are located where all voters can reasonably access them.
The SAVE VOTERS Act would:
- Allow election officials to use state records to remove voters who have died or permanently moved out of the state;
- Require states to obtain objective and reliable evidence that a person is ineligible to vote before removing them from voting rolls, such as non-citizenship, a felony conviction, or residency in a U.S. territory;
- Require election officials to notify a voter before removing them from the rolls and provide public notice of any general program to remove voters within 48 hours of removal; and
- Revise the voting procedure to allow a voter who moved within a state but failed to report the change of address to vote at the polling place of the their current address or at a central location in the jurisdiction of the local voter registration office.
The Register America to Vote Act would:
- Require states to establish a system to automatically register all eligible voters when they turn 18;
- Ensure all eligible voters are automatically registered to vote through motor vehicle agencies;
- Allow voters to opt out of or update their registration in their interactions with motor vehicle agencies;
- Create safeguards against registration of ineligible voters and protections for people who are erroneously registered; and
- Direct the National Institute of Standards and Technology to develop voter database management standards and security policies.
In response to the Youngkin Administration’s improper removal of nearly 3,400 eligible Virginia voters from the rolls, Kaine joined his colleagues in a follow-up letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland calling on the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate. Kaine cosponsored legislation to strengthen campaign finance laws, improve transparency around political spending in federal elections, and make government more accountable to the will of voters.
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Rebecca Barnabi
