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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Massachusetts partially settles lawsuit over voter registration for welfare recipients
The Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance has settled a 2012 lawsuit with voting rights organizations by agreeing to distribute voter registration forms to people applying for public assistance... Read more
Groups Claim Arkansas Not Complying With Voter Registration Law
Public assistance agencies in Arkansas are failing to provide voter-registration services as required under the National Voter Registration Act. Read more
Voting groups: Arizona is failing low-income residents
Local and national voting-rights groups say Arizona is failing to provide voter registration information to low-income residents. Read more
Alabama reaches agreement on voter registration
Alabama could see more low-income citizens signing up to vote now that voter rights groups and state officials have reached an agreement… Read more
Appeals court examines state’s voter-registration obligations
A federal appeals court is considering whether Louisiana must help its poor citizens on public assistance register to vote when they interact with state agencies online, over the telephone or through the mail. Read more
Civil rights groups claim N.J. violating ‘motor voter act,’ threaten to sue
Lawyers for the NAACP and a coalition of other civil rights groups claim New Jersey has been violating the National Voting Rights Act and say they will sue if changes are not made. Read more
Lawsuit claimed as reason more voters registering
The number of applications filed through state agencies represents a dramatic increase of 384 percent over the previous two-year period. Read more
More Hoosiers Registered To Vote After Federal Law Enacted
More than 53,000 low-income Hoosiers have registered to vote since the federal lawsuit was settled in 2011. Read more
Report Cites Rise In Voter Registrations Following Suit
The U.S. Election Assistance Commission report says that 53,000 low-income Hoosiers either applied to register or updated their registrations from 2011 to 2012. Read more
More Hoosiers register to vote through public assistance offices
According to Project Vote, a Washington D.C.-based non-profit organization that works to empower, educate and mobilize marginalized and under-represented voters, the increase is the result of a lawsuit settled in 2011. Read more