In the past we’ve told you about lawsuits Project Vote and our partners have brought in several states to enforce the public agency provisions of the National Voter Registration Act. Today we are pleased to share with you a successful example of what happens when a state chooses to avoid costly litigation, and voluntarily accepts our assistance to improve compliance with the NVRA.
The State of Colorado recently released its 2010 Annual Report on public agency registration, and reports that “Colorado’s successful partnership between the Secretary of State’s Office, covered agencies, and Project Vote, a national voter advocacy group, has resulted in improved registration opportunities for voters.”
Project Vote has been working with the Colorado Department of Human Services and the secretary of state’s office since late 2007, when we first alerted them to suspected noncompliance with the NVRA, based on the extremely low numbers of registrations coming out of public agencies. Over the next two years Project Vote staff members met repeatedly with agency and election officials to provide suggestions on best practices and recommend possible improvements to their systems, including improved tracking, monitoring, and oversight of the public agency voter registration process. Project Vote also conducted site visits to individual county offices to help diagnose issues and implement solutions.
Through this process, the secretary of state’s office implemented electronic tracking and reporting procedures, created improved training materials, and developed a new NVRA manual for best practices. The SOS is also working on a system to integrate online voter registration into the online public benefits application process.
The results have been remarkable. Through consistent work, a productive, cooperative partnership, and the renewed commitment of state officials, public agency registrations in Colorado have increased more than tenfold: from just over 3,300 in 2007 to nearly 44,000 in 2010.
This success is a testament to what can be achieved through simple technical assistance if states voluntarily and enthusiastically embrace their responsibilities under the NVRA. We hope more states will work with us, rather than against us, to ensure that low-income Americans across the country are provided their rightful opportunity to register to vote.