Among the biggest, but hidden, voter suppression issues of our times is the lack of access to voter registration opportunities and poor election administration systems. In a New York Times lead editorial this week addressing the March on Washington and the sadly ever-present attacks on voting rights, the editors proposed a new solution to the problem of the increasing unavailability of judicial oversight and legal remedies to address voting rights violations:
A more robust and lasting solution would include Congress requiring states to improve the accuracy of voter registration databases. Federal laws began this process in the 1990s and early 2000s, but many states’ voting rolls remain woefully unreliable. Making registration easier — for example, by obligating states to identify and register eligible voters or by allowing voters to update their registrations online — would also make a real difference.
This is exactly the work that our California Voting Rights Project is tackling. The ACLU of California is working to:
- Ensure that online voter registration is broadly accessible to every eligible California voter; and
- Ensure all Californians are given the opportunity to register to vote or update their voter information when they interact with government, including interactions with the state's new Health Benefit Exchange.
Find out more on our Voting Rights issues page.
