FACT: Limitations on 3rd party voter registration drives disproportionately affect low income and minority voters because they are registered through these mechanisms more so than through regular government channels then though the government offices or the clerk's office.
The National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) of 1993 requires state agencies that offer public assistance to also offer voter registration opportunities. In 1995-1996, public agencies registered 2.6 million voters: ten years later the number has declined 59% to barely one million 2003-2005.
FACT: Inadequate funding for election administration combined with a highly partisan political environment make it unlikely that Mississippi can play a leading role in overcoming the disparity in registration rates.
Third party voter registration drives help citizens who face the greatest barriers to voting. Many non-profit voter registration drives target groups like:
- the elderly or disabled, who may find it difficult to travel to a government office to register to vote or to obtain a voter registration application online;
- low-income populations and minority communities who have been traditionally disenfranchised;
- students who may find it difficult to establish residence and vote where they live;
- new citizens.
Many states have enacted burdensome restrictions on voter registration groups, enforced with heavy fines and criminal penalties. Instead of praising civic groups who register voters for their contribution to democracy, many states have cracked down on these groups. California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Missouri, New Mexico, Ohio and Washington have each enacted laws that restrict voter registration drives. These restrictions include strict deadlines on voter registration drives, such as New Mexico's requirement that drives turn in form 48 hours after completion, and requirements, like those in Ohio an Colorado, that individuals re-register with the state and disclose personal information before helping their neighbors to register to vote. In most states, these laws are enforced by criminal penalties, including jail time, or by steep fines. The Florida law, for instance, holds individual volunteers and the groups they work for jointly liable for $250 for each form returned more then 10 days after completion, $500 for each form received after the state voter registration deadline, and $5000 for each form not submitted.
Many of these new laws have shut down or substantially impeded voter registration drives. These new restrictions often have hidden costs for voter registration drives. Many groups are simply unable to comply with the new laws without abandoning or cutting back on their voter registration efforts.
FACT: These groups review forms for completeness and accuracy. They monitor their volunteers and follow up with voters if they need more information and with elections officials to guarantee that voters get on the rolls. Tight deadlines can stop this review process, and even a longer deadline is a problem when it is enforced with heavy penalties. For instance, the League of Women Voters of Florida had to shut down operations rather then risk being fined: just 14 forms lost in a hurricane or car accident could have bankrupted the League.
<b/>Laws restricting voter registration drives do not address any real "problems." Some state lawmakers claim that these new laws protect against "fraud" and help voters by ensuring that their forms are submitted on time.
Fact: The evidence shows that voter registration drives do not change the patterns of when and how voter registration forms are submitted, except by increasing the number of voters who register. In lawsuits in Ohio and Florida, the states have been unable to show that voter registration drives cause any real problems. Instead, all they have shown is that voter registration drives lead to more voters registering, which means that state and county official have to work harder to process the increase in new voters. This is a good thing + and not something that the state has a legitimate interest in stopping.
FACT: Unnecessary or overly restrictive laws violate both the First Amendment and the NVRA. The states must ensure that any laws or regulations restricting voter registration activities are "narrowly tailored to serve an overriding state interest."
The League supports the following items for inclusion in legislation:
1. A requirement that Secretary of States office and/ or organizations provide training to assure registration application are completed accurately according to state standards.
2. Recommend that if a time line is enacted in submitting registration forms to circuit clerks that they are no more onerous than those provided for state agencies in the NVRA. (NVRA provides for 10days for state agencies except for applications collected within 5 days of the close of registration, in which case the transmittal period is 5 days).
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League of Women Voters of Mississippi, Inc.. All rights reserved.
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