To ensure our democracy works for everyone, elections must be free, fair, and accessible.
Voting is one of the major ways we communicate with our elected officials and speak up for what we believe in. However, even today many hardworking Americans face real barriers that interfere with their journey to the ballot box.
Currently, there are about 4.5 million Florida residents who are potentially eligible to vote but not registered. Automatic Voter Registration (AVR) could help give these citizens a voice.
Automatic Voter Registration makes common sense updates to modernize our registration system so more eligible Americans can register, vote, and make themselves heard, while at the same time safeguarding our elections with better technology.
AVR provides major solutions—
- Enhanced inclusivity: AVR requires that every eligible citizen who interacts with state agencies like the Division of Motor Vehicles be automatically registered to vote, unless they decline. This simple swap from an opt-in to an opt-out system could bring hundreds of thousands of new eligible voters to the polls on Election Day.
- Increased accuracy: If a citizen is already registered, AVR will update the voter’s contact information, making sure our rolls are as up-to-date as possible.
- Effectiveness: We know that AVR works. The U.S. Election Assistance Commission released a report showing Oregon’s Automatic Voter Registration law has added 375,000 new voters to the rolls in just 18 months—a 12% increase in the state’s registered voters. Similarly, Vermont’s Automatic Voter Registration law has registered over 12,300 new voters in the first six months of the law being enacted, according to a recent report by the Vermont Secretary of State.