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Guard Against Undue Restrictions on Voter Registration
- A number of states require voter registration programs of any size
to register with the state; some mandate state-run training. While
training
and registration requirements may seem reasonable, the details of
compliance
can unreasonably restrict large paid and volunteer programs.
Increases in fines
levied against individuals and organizations may make it cost
prohibitive to
conduct registration drives for organization that have been doing
drives for
years.
- New Mexico, for instance, requires the identity of every employee
and
volunteer be disclosed to the state in advance of registration
activities. This
requirement burdens large paid programs recruiting new staff
everyday and volunteer
efforts that may not know the identity of each participant in
advance. For the
same reason, state-run training sessions that are infrequently and
inconveniently
offered harm large and small registration programs. Delaware, for
example, offers
training once a month, only in Dover.
- Some states limit the number of voter registration forms available
to organizations. Election officials should encourage people to
register others
to vote, not deter them.
- Short Transmittal Periods: A number of states impose unreasonable
deadlines
on the short submission of completed voter registration cards to
elections administrators.
Short transmittal periods particularly harm volunteer voter
registration efforts
where forms are distributed at one regularly-scheduled meeting, and
completed
forms are collected at another.
- Prohibition on Paying Staff: Some states have attempted to
prohibit
paying employees for registering voters by requiring efforts be
exclusively
volunteer. This disproportionately impacts participation by
low-income citizens,
who rarely have the time to volunteer. Further, even small
nonprofits regularly
hire volunteer coordinators, so there is often paid staff organizing
the efforts.
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