Automatic voter registration

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Under an automatic voter registration system, eligible voters are automatically registered to vote whenever they interact with certain government agencies, such as departments of motor vehicles. Eligible voters are registered by default, although they may request not to be registered.^[1][2]

At the time of adopting automatic voter registration, governors in 18 of the 24 states with these policies were Democrats, five were Republicans, and one was independent. In the 2016 presidential election, 18 of the 24 states with automatic voter registration policies voted for the Democratic nominee, five voted for the Republican nominee, and one state—Maine—split its electoral college vote. In the 2020 presidential election, 21 of the 24 states with these policies voted for the Democratic nominee, two voted for the Republican nominee, and Maine split its electoral college vote.

Automatic voter registration by state

As of June 2024, 24 states and the District of Columbia had enacted automatic voter registration policies. See the map below.^[1][4]

Automatic voter registration, 2024
State	Year enacted	Year implemented	Enacting governor	Authorizing legislation
Alaska[6]	2016	2017	Gov. Bill Walker (I)	Alaska Voter Registration via the Permanent Fund Dividend Application, Ballot Measure 1 (2016)
California[7]	2015	2018	Gov. Jerry Brown (D)	AB 1461
Colorado[8]	--	2017	Gov. John Hickenlooper (D)	Administrative action[9]
Connecticut[10]	--	2016	Gov. Dannel Malloy (D)	Administrative action[11]
Delaware[12]	2021	2023	Gov. John Carney (D)	SB 5
District of Columbia[13]	2016	2018	Mayor Muriel Bowser (D)	B21-0194
Georgia[14]	--	2016	Gov. Nathan Deal (R)	Administrative action[1]
Hawaii[15]	2021	2021	Gov. David Ige (D)	SB 159
Illinois[16]	2017	2018	Gov. Bruce Rauner (R)	SB 1933
Maine[17]	2019	2022	Gov. Janet Mills (D)	HB 1070
Maryland[18]	2018	2019	Gov. Larry Hogan (R)	SB 1048
Massachusetts[19]	2018	2020	Gov. Charlie Baker (R)	HB 4834
Michigan[20]	2018	2019	Gov. Rick Snyder (R)	Proposal 3
Minnesota[21]	2023	2023	Gov. Tim Walz (D)	HF 3
New Jersey[22]	2018	2018	Gov. Phil Murphy (D)	A 2014
New Mexico[23]	2019	2020	Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D)	SB 672
New York[24]	2020	2023	Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D)	S.8806
Nevada[25]	2018	2020	Gov. Brian Sandoval (R)	Question 5
Oregon[26]	2015	2016	Gov. Kate Brown (D)	HB 2177
Pennsylvania[5]	--	2023	Gov. Josh Shapiro (D)	Executive action[27]
Rhode Island[28]	2017	2018	Gov. Gina Raimondo (D)	H 5702
Vermont[29]	2016	2017	Gov. Peter Shumlin (D)	H 458
Virginia[30]	2020	2020	Gov. Ralph Northam (D)	HB235/SB219
Washington[31]	2018	2019	Gov. Jay Inslee (D)	HB 2595
West Virginia[32]	2016	2021	Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin (D)	HB 4013

Support and opposition

Support

In a 2022 report, the Institute for Responsive Government, which described its mission as "to help policy makers find solutions that make government more efficient, accessible, and responsive to the needs of real human beings," argued that automatic voter registration improves the efficiency of election administration and helps to ensure accurate voter rolls:^[33][34]

“

AVR ensures voter rolls are up to date: Roughly 10% of Americans move each year. With AVR, whenever an eligible individual provides new information to the DMV, their voter registration is seamlessly updated, unless the person declines, reducing obsolete registration entries and deadwood on the voter file. AVR ensures voter rolls are accurate: AVR improves accuracy by relying on an electronic transfer of information. AVR reduces the need for error-prone handwritten paper registration forms that must be manually entered by clerks. AVR reduces election day issues: A person who is registered or updated through AVR does not need to register or update at the polls via same-day registration or cast a provisional ballot, reducing the potential for delays, additional paperwork, and voter confusion on election day. AVR saves money: Processing each paper registration form costs roughly $4.72 in labor, and election mailings to outdated or incorrect addresses are an unnecessary expense. AVR undercuts both of these cost drivers, and can save state and local election officials hundreds of thousands of dollars each election. [35]

”

Liz Kennedy, Lew Daly, and Brenda Wright, in a 2016 report published by Demos, argued that automatic voter registration promotes civic participation, reducing barriers that might otherwise impede citizens from exercising their constitutional rights to political participation: ^[36]

“	Our current voter registration system, which is designed as a voter-initiated or 'self-registration' system, creates barriers to registration that do not serve any significant purpose in a democracy. Demos believes that full participation in elections significantly depends on achieving universal voter registration through an automatic registration system. Automatic Voter Registration (AVR) builds on the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA) and other voter registration reforms to improve the overall effectiveness of the voter registration system. Automatic Voter Registration uses information already on file with a variety of government agencies to identify persons who are eligible to vote and add them to the voter rolls, or update their voter information, in a paperless process. With comprehensive and inclusive AVR, states have the opportunity to take a major leap forward in voting rights by building the modern, equitable registration system that we need and deserve.[35]	”
—Liz Kennedy, Lew Daly, and Brenda Wright

The Brennan Center for Justice, in a 2017 report, argued that automatic voter registration can reduce errors and inefficiencies in the electoral process:^[2]

“	Automatic voter registration makes two transformative, yet simple, changes to voter registration: Eligible citizens who interact with government agencies are registered to vote unless they decline, and agencies transfer voter registration information electronically to election officials. These two changes create a seamless process that is more convenient and less error-prone for both voters and government officials. This policy boosts registration rates, cleans up the rolls, makes voting more convenient, and reduces the potential for voter fraud, all while lowering costs.[35]	”
—Brennan Center for Justice

Opposition

In a 2024 article, GoodParty.org, an organization that described its missions as "provid[ing] the structure, grassroots support, and tools to make it possible to run a winning campaign without the baggage and habits of the two major parties," said that drawbacks of automatic voter registration included:^[37][38]

“

Potential Resistance: AVR may meet legal and political resistance as it seeks to change the current laws and standards of voter registration in some states. Some opponents may argue that AVR will benefit one political party over another. Privacy Concerns: Automatic voter registration may raise concerns about voter registration data security and privacy by exposing voter information to malicious or unauthorized use. Startup Costs: While AVR can save election officials money over time, switching from manual to automatic voter registration requires investing in certain startup costs. Need for Collaboration: Automatic voter registration may necessitate coordination and collaboration between several government agencies and stakeholders in order to implement potentially complex adjustments to the current election procedures. [35]

”

Hans von Spakovsky, in a 2013 report published by the Heritage Foundation, argued that automatic voter registration poses a threat to the integrity of elections by increasing the likelihood of ineligible voter participation. He also argued that automatic registration infringes upon citizens' constitutional rights:^[39]

“	Mandatory voter registration (MVR), previously termed 'universal' registration, could significantly damage the integrity of America’s voter registration system. The 'voter registration modernization' concept of automatically registering individuals through information contained in various existing government databases would throw the current system into chaos. Specifically, voter registration modernization could result in the registration of large numbers of ineligible voters as well as multiple or duplicate registrations of the same individuals. When combined with the accompanying proposal that states allow any individuals who are not automatically registered to register and vote on Election Day, MVR presents a sure formula for registration and voter fraud that could damage the integrity of elections. Automatically registering individuals to vote without their permission would also violate their basic right to choose whether they wish to participate in the U.S. political process. Indeed, this new scheme threatens one of American’s most cherished liberties: the freedom to be left alone by the government.[35]	”
—Hans von Spakovsky

Amber Phillips, writing in 2016 for The Washington Post, argued that automatic voter registration policies can reinforce a political party's existing advantage within a state:^[40]

“	Automatic voter registration mostly benefits Democrats. Or, at least, it benefits the party in control of the state that's implementing the program. When California debated its automatic voter registration this fall, The Fix's Philip Bump made the case that boosting voter registration in a Democratic-leaning state will simply boost the number of Democratic voters more than Republicans. Preliminary numbers suggest that's been the case in Oregon. Of 437 automatically registered voters who took the next step and actually filled out a card to choose a party affiliation, about 49 percent chose the Democratic Party, 30 percent chose Republican and 5 percent chose independent. Oregon's secretary of state notes that just about mirrors the state's partisan voter breakdown now.[35]	”
—Amber Phillips

Automatic voter registration legislation

The table below lists bills related to automatic voter registration introduced during (or carried over to) each state's regular legislative session this year. The following information is included for each bill:

• State
• Bill number
• Official bill name or caption
• Most recent action date
• Legislative status
• Sponsor party
• Topics dealt with by the bill

Bills are organized by state and then by most recent action. The table displays up to 100 results. To view more bills, use the arrows in the upper-right corner. Clicking on a bill will open its page on Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker, which includes bill details and a summary.

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See also

• Voter registration
• Online voter registration
• Same-day voter registration
• Voting
• Voter identification laws by state

Footnotes