Yesterday, Project Vote and Demos sent a letter to President Obama, urging him to take immediate action to ensure that millions of Americans applying for benefits under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) are not denied the opportunity to register to vote.
Because the federally-facilitated Health Benefits Exchanges created by the ACA provide Medicaid and other covered services, they are also required to provide applicants with voter registration services under the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA).
The Obama Administration has acknowledged this requirement, but to date the ACA application process falls far short of what the NVRA requires. The current system is in violation of federal law, and as a result several million Americans already have lost out on the opportunity to register to vote. Tens of millions more will be denied this right if the Administration does not take action in the coming months.
Ironically, on the very same day we sent our letter to the White House, the Presidential Commission on Election Administration released its report on voting in America. Among its many findings, the report draws on Project Vote research to support the observation that “the election statute most often ignored…is the National Voter Registration Act.” The report calls for increased enforcement of the NVRA.
We couldn’t agree more, and we’re asking the President to start by making his own health care program compliant with the NVRA.
The Affordable Care Act is a landmark achievement, but the progress it represents must not come at the cost of previous civil rights advancements like the NVRA. Project Vote is proud to be working with Demos and other partners to lead this effort, and we look forward to working with the White House to ensure that millions of eligible Americans are not denied their right to register to vote.
Photo by Pete Souza via Wikimedia Commons