Important Move Comes Just as New Federal Report Highlights Poor Performance by States
Olympia,WA—On July 4, Washington Governor Christine Gregoire signed an executive order to better implement the federal National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), a move which should help thousands of low-income Washingtonians become registered voters. The NVRA requires state public assistance agencies to offer voter registration opportunities to applicants and clients of their programs. The order designates the state’s Department of Social and Health Services as a voter registration agency and instructs the Department to name a “Voter Registration Assistance Officer.” It comes 5 days after a biennial report to Congress by the US Election Assistance Commission (EAC) indicated voter registration applications from Washington agencies dropped by over two-thirds from 1995-1996, when the Act was first implemented, to 2005-2006.
In response to the Governor’s executive order, the following statement was released by Project Vote and Demos, national voting rights groups that have been working to improve NVRA compliance:
“Governor Gregoire could not have chosen a better date than July 4th to sign an executive order that rededicates Washington to implementing the National Voter Registration Act in public assistance agencies. This important voting rights law, which was passed by Congress in 1993, requires states to offer voter registration to applicants and clients of public assistance programs specifically to ensure that our democracy includes the voices of all of America’s citizens, including her poorest.
“Washington was once a leader of the idea that states should offer voter registration at public assistance agencies. Former Secretary of State Ralph Munro was a strong voice for the inclusion of the public agency registration requirement in the NVRA and played a significant role in the law’s passage. During the first two years the NVRA was in effect, 1995-1996, Washington’s public agencies registered 22,839 individuals. In the last two years, 2005-2006, that number has declined by more than two-thirds to just 7,119. Partly as a consequence, Washington has a marked disparity in the number of low-income and upper income Washingtonians registered to vote. While 83 percent of adult citizens living in households with an income of $75,000 or more are registered to vote, only 56 percent of adult citizens living in households with an income of less than $15,000 are registered to vote.
“Governor Gregoire’s executive order puts Washington on course with several other states that have taken recent steps to improve voter registration at public assistance agencies. The most recent state to do so, North Carolina, has experienced a dramatic increase in agency registration rates. Iowa, whose Secretary of State worked with our organizations in 2004, reported that agency registrations more than doubled from 2003-2004 to 2005-2006.
“All Washingtonians deserve an equal opportunity to participate in our democracy. Governor Gregoire’s leadership on public agency registration is an important step in achieving that goal. Project Vote and Demos look forward to offering our expertise in this area to Washington’s human services agencies.”
Governor Gregoire’s executive order 07-04 can be found here and the news release is here. Visit www.projectvote.org or www.demos.org for more information on the NVRA or to download related resources including: “Ten Years Later, A Promise Unfulfilled,” a new report on North Carolina’s NVRA improvements, a recent letter notifying New Mexico’s Secretary of State of the state’s failure to comply with Section 7, and recent letters submitted to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees urging investigation of the US Justice Department’s selective enforcement of the NVRA.