Talking Points: Advancing Pro-Voter Reforms

Multiple voting rights bills have been introduced in Congress and in state legislatures that include provisions the League supports. LWVUS advocates for reforms in Congress to improve elections and facilitate equal access. State and local Leagues advocate for reforms in state legislatures and at the local level that do the same. Equal access for our diverse electorate requires offering voters options to cast their ballots in a way that is accessible and addresses the number of unique barriers voters may face. 

Below are the priority pro-voter policies of LWVUS and the language we use to message on each policy.

 

Same-Day Voter Registration

Millions of Americans miss the opportunity to vote because they don’t know how to register, or they miss their state’s deadline. Allowing voters to register on Election Day ensures that new voters or those who have recently moved can update their registration and vote a regular ballot.

• Same-day registration (SDR) is particularly helpful to mobile populations. Young people, people of color, and low-income populations are the most mobile of all citizens.
• Moving complicates the registration and voting process for many citizens, and same-day registration offers a simple solution for these affected populations.
• SDR reduces the number of provisional ballots. For those who moved counties but missed registration deadlines, or for those whose information is incorrect, SDR allows voters to change their address on the spot and vote.
   

Early Voting

Allowing voters to cast a ballot prior to Election Day with an Elections Official increases the opportunity for many communities to cast a ballot and have it be counted. Voters who work during traditional voting hours, people with disabilities, and people who live far away from polling locations in rural communities need other options to cast their ballots. Our election system must allow voters more time to cast their ballot by expanding early voting timelines.

• Early voting has proven to be an incredibly popular and convenient option for voters, with 47.1% of voters voting early in the 2022 midterm election.
• Access to early voting is vital for voters who can't take time off work on Election Day, care for children, work extra jobs, or just don’t have the capacity to vote on one specific day of the year.
• Election Day voting lines are longer in communities with more racial and ethnic minorities — and long lines are another deterrent from voting. Longer early voting periods shorten Election Day wait times by spreading voter turnout over more days.
   

Fair and Transparent List Maintenance

Proper list maintenance requires practices that are transparent, accurate, and fair, and that identify and reach out to unregistered voters. States should maintain lists that are secure, electronically integrated across departments, uniformly updated across the state, and provide notice to the voter before any purge.

• When removing voters from the rolls, election officials should prioritize protecting voters’ information, establishing strong safeguards against erroneous purging, and following clearly stated and uniform purging practices.
• This process should strive to put voters first and maintain accurate lists, not increase disenfranchisement.
• Voters must be given access to review and check their own individual voter records prior to any purge.
   

Online Voter Registration

Americans are connected to the internet every day to pay their bills, check in with family, do homework, and function in their everyday lives. Voters should be able to register, update their registration, and confirm their registration status online.

• Americans are accustomed to using online tools for all kinds of governmental services, such as vehicle tag renewal, water bill payments, and tax returns. Voter registration should be no different.
• Not only can online voter registration make the process easier for voters, but it also cuts down on administrative effort for election administrators as well.
• Online voter registration increases registration access, especially among eligible voters in underrepresented populations.
   

Mail Voting and No-Excuse Absentee Voting

Many voters cannot get to physical polling places — possibly waiting in long lines, in the middle of the week to cast a ballot. Our election system must allow voters the option of receiving a ballot in the mail and sending it back or placing it in an accessible drop box.

• Voting by mail helps voters with disabilities, severe health issues, and inflexible work schedules have equal access to the ballot.
• States have used vote-by-mail processes for over a hundred years, and some states even conduct all their elections by mail. Military and overseas voters need to vote-by-mail in many cases, and they are also able to do so safely and securely.
• States safeguard mail ballots by verifying signatures, tracking barcodes, and setting clear chains of custody for all ballots.
• Ballot drop boxes are a secure option for voters who want to avoid the rush at voting centers on Election Day.
   

Disabled Voter Accessibility

The disabled community is diverse! Necessary accommodations for disabled voters include physically accessible polling places, mail-in ballots, and non-paper ballots that can be cast securely and independently for voters with print disabilities.

• Disabled voters often rely on support from volunteers or family members to deliver their ballots. Laws should support the voter assistance that disabled voters rely on.
• Voters with disabilities rely more heavily on mail-in or absentee voting to make their voices heard. These options should be made as accessible as possible for these voters.
   

Native Voter Protections

There are 574 federally recognized Indian tribes in the US, representing millions of Native voices that are crucial to our democracy. Equal access for Native voters includes accessible polling places, mail ballots, creating addresses for homes without USPS-compliant addresses, and combatting unfair redistricting that dilutes the Native vote.

• Native American voters face infrastructure challenges far beyond those of an average American voter. Governments at all levels must create an infrastructure suited to their needs.
• Voters on tribal lands are reliant on ballot collection services because many are in remote areas far from any post office, government agency, or other public services. Mail services are also often unreliable and severely delayed on tribal lands.
• Native access to vote-by-mail would be expanded through prepaid postage for ballots, the designation of a tribal government building as a ballot pickup and collection location, and no-excuse absentee voting without a residential address requirement.
• States must provide sufficient polling places to Native American reservations, at no additional cost to the tribes, in each precinct at a location selected by the tribes.
   

Non-English Election Information

The freedom to vote applies equally to all eligible voters regardless of the language with which they are most comfortable. Voting information should be accessible in the languages spoken in a community, including Native languages.

• Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act requires states to provide translated voting materials, including voter registration notices, forms, instructions, assistance, and ballots, in the language of applicable minority groups as well as English.
• Increasing the language accessibility of voting materials allows voters to feel confident in voting and become educated and informed as they vote on high-priority issues in their communities.
• In our interconnected, digital world, it’s easier than ever to provide translated voting materials. A failure to provide those materials creates a barrier to participation for communities with limited English proficiency.
   

Automatic Voter Registration

Many states have expanded the list of government agencies that help register voters. But practices vary from state to state. Federal law should standardize automatic voter registration in all government agency offices.

• Automatic Voter Registration can ensure that eligible voters have a voice.
• Automatic Voter Registration knocks down the first barrier for voters to navigate in the electoral system, allowing voters to focus not on administrative processes but on making their voices heard.
   

Election Assistance Commission (EAC) Funding

The EAC is an important agency to ensure that elections are administered properly, elections officials have a space in which to share best practices, and voting machines meet current technology standards. The EAC is also charged with creating and maintaining the national mail-in registration form.

• The EAC is an independent, bipartisan agency that supports election administration efforts and, ultimately, American voters.
• Funding for the EAC is one of the greatest ways to ensure election security.
• The EAC has the ability to provide federal support to mitigate election system problems through studies, resources, information, and funding.