Section 7 of the National Voter Registration Act
Though most people know the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) as the “motor voter” law, fewer people know that it also mandates that voter registration be offered at other government agencies besides DMVs. State agencies offering SNAP (food stamps), TANF, Medicaid, and other government benefits are also legally required to assist their clients in registering to vote under the NVRA.
Congress included this provision, Section 7, exactly to reach the citizens who are less likely to register through other means: low-income people, minorities, the elderly, and the disabled.
However, too many states have been ignoring this part of the NVRA, meaning that millions of our most vulnerable citizens are missing out on the change to make their voices heard. That’s why Project Vote and our partners are working to fix that. We investigate compliance. We document violations of the NVRA. And, where we find problems, we work—through advocacy, assistance, and litigation—to ensure that states are following the law and doing right by their citizens.
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Federal Appeals Court Rules That N.M. Violated Federal Law, Failing to Provide Voter Registration Applications to Public Assistance Clients
The federal Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled yesterday that the State of New Mexico Human Services Department (HSD) violated Section 7 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA) by improperly withholding voter registration applications from certain public assistance clients. Read more
Valdez v. Duran: Tenth Circuit Court Opinion
Court of Appeals Opinion affirming district court decisions in Valdez v. Duran Read more
Federal Court Delivers Important Ruling in National Voter Registration Act Lawsuit
In a strongly worded order handed down yesterday, U.S. District Judge Charles A. Pannell, Jr. denied a motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by a coalition of voting rights groups to remedy the State of Georgia’s failure to provide voter registration services at public assistance offices. Read more
Georgia NAACP v. Kemp – Order Denying Motion to Dismiss
Order Denying Motion to Dismiss Read more
Massachusetts Failing to Offer Voter Registration to Public Assistance Clients
Yesterday, attorneys from Project Vote and partners sent a pre-litigation notice letter to Massachusettsstate officials, urging them to bring the state into compliance with the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) or face litigation. Read more
NAACP v. Galvin: Notice Letter
Pre-litigation notice letter concerning Massachusett's violations of Sec. 7 of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA). Read more
Righting the Voting Income Gap
In many of the states that saw an increase in recent years, nonprofit groups led by Dēmos, Project Vote, and The Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law had either sued or threatened to sue the state. Read more
Indiana Settles Class Action Lawsuit Regarding Compliance with the NVRA
Today, U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt approved the settlement of a class action lawsuit brought against Indiana officials to bring the State into compliance with the National Voter Registration Act (“NVRA”). Read more
Voting rights activists threaten state with lawsuit: Michigan may be violating federal statute
A coalition of groups, including Demos, Project Vote, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (LCCRUL), and the NAACP, sent a letter to Michigan Secretary of State Ruth Johnson last week alleging that the state is in violation of federal law requiring voter registration at public assistance offices. Read more
Michigan impeding low-income voter registration: Voting rights groups
Attorneys from Demos, Project Vote, the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and the NAACP have sent a pre-litigation notice letter (PDF) to Michigan Secretary of State Ruth Johnson… Read more