|
National Voter Registration Act
Requirements of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA)
of 1993
The Federal National Voter Registration Act was passed in 1993 and
signed into law in May of that year by President Bill Clinton. It is
intended primarily to increase the number of eligible citizens who register
to vote. Supporters of the act
assume that if more people are registered to vote, political participation
will increase. The NVRA is
also intended to protect the integrity of the electoral process by ensuring
that accurate and current voter registration rolls are maintained. Finally,
the law establishes safeguards that are intended to help protect an
individual's right to vote.
The act pursues these objectives through its requirements. First,
the act expands the number of locations where eligible citizens may apply
to register to vote. Driver's license offices, agencies that provide public
assistance, and agencies that offer state-funded assistance to people with
disabilities must offer clients the opportunity to register to vote when
they apply for the services of that office. The act also requires states to make voter registration
available by mail.
By requiring voter registration to be offered in these locations,
the NVRA attempts to make political participation more accessible to U. S.
citizens.
The second major aspect of the NVRA involves the maintenance of
voter registration rolls. The NVRA establishes strict conditions for
removing individuals’ names from voter registration rolls. In an attempt to keep all eligible
voters on the registration rolls, the law forbids the removal of a name for
failure to vote in an election.
While making it more difficult to remove eligible voters from
registration rolls, the law requires states to "conduct a general
program that makes a reasonable effort to remove the names of ineligible
voters" who have died or moved. To comply with this aspect of the federal NVRA,
Utah’s voter registration act establishes procedures for identifying and
removing from the rolls the names of individuals who are no longer available
to vote. This list maintenance
program is meant to keep voter registration rolls accurate.
Offices
That Offer Voter Registration Under NVRA
In 1994, the Utah legislature
passed legislation that integrated the requirements of the NVRA into Utah
state law. As a result of the NVRA, voter registration must be offered at
the following locations in Utah:
- Department
of Motor Vehicles (DMV) driver's license offices
· Offices of the Division of Workforce Services
· Utah State Department of Health Women, Infant and Children (WIC) Offices
· Offices of the Division of Services for People with Disabilities
· Offices of the Department of Rehabilitation
· Offices at public colleges and universities that provide services to
the disabled
· Armed Forces Recruitment Offices
· High school seniors should receive a form in their senior information
packet
|
