New voter registration rules could bring more poor people to the polls

Recently issued guidelines from the U.S. Department of Justice that give states new details on how they must offer voter registration at public assistance agencies could significantly increase political participation by the poor and minorities as soon as this fall’s election — if Michigan complies with the law, say voting rights activists.

The 1993 National Voting Rights Act (NVRA), also known as the “motor voter law,” requires states to offer voter registration at motor vehicle agencies, by mail and at public assistance and disability offices.

On June 1 the DOJ Civil Rights Division issued updated and more detailed information on which offices must provide registration services, who must be offered the forms, what type of assistance must be provided and how the forms are to be handled.

According to Demos a non-partisan public policy research and advocacy organization headquartered in New York City, the guidance sends a strong signal to states of the importance of providing voter registration as required by federal law and represents a departure from the practices of the Bush Administration, which did not enforce the public assistance provisions of NRVA.

In the recent guidance DOJ specified that each agency and office that administers or provides services or assistance under any state or federal public assistance program must provide comprehensive voter registration services. Armed Forces recruitment offices must provide voter registration services, as well as any office that provides either public assistance or state-funded programs or services to people with disabilities.

These offices must provide an opportunity to register to vote not only when a person applies for assistance but also when applicants reapply or recertify for programs or renew or change their addresses.

According to the Associated Press one in every four Michigan residents is now receiving some type of government assistance, and the number is expected to rise this year as high levels of unemployment continue. Offering robust voter registration programs through those agencies could significantly increase participation by the most vulnerable demographic groups.

Demos reports that in 2008 over 11 million low-income adult citizens remained unregistered to vote and the registration gap between low-income and high-income citizens was over 19 percentage points. And changes in how voter registration is done at public assistance agencies can has already shown dramatic results in other states.

In Ohio registration at public assistance agencies has soared following a settlement of a Demos case over compliance with federal voter registration laws at public assistance agencies.

“In the first five months of 2010 (January through May), over 84,000 low-income people have applied to register to vote at public assistance offices in Ohio, following completion of the settlement agreement in that case in November 2009,” said attorney Brenda Wright, director of the Democracy Program at Demos. “This amounts to almost 17,000 per month, compared to just 1,755 registration applications per month that Ohio agencies were collecting before we filed suit.”

The Michigan Secretary of State’s office and Dept. of Human Services were not able to describe current efforts to register voters at public assistance agencies for this story. But some effort has been made in the past on these matters.

In 2008 Michigan’s Dept. of Human Services along with the governor’s office, Demos and other civil rights groups carried out a campaign to increase registration opportunities for pubic assistance recipients.

According to a DHS report on that effort, between Sept. 2007 and March 2008 DHS local offices registered 23,218 new voters, set up video displays with voter registration information in DHS offices, and developed public service announcements with voter registration information.

It’s not clear which Michigan public assistance offices are now offering voter registration and whether people are being asked if they want to register whenever they update information in their files.

DHS spokeswoman Christina Fecher said that DHS does collect data from county offices on their voter registration activity and that the department has added the question “Do you want to register to vote?” to assistance applications.

The Secretary of State’s office was unaware of the new DOJ guidance when contacted by Michigan Messenger.

Spokesperson Kelly Chesney said she believes that Michigan is in compliance with NRVA and she said that it is DHS’s responsibility to comply with the parts of the law that relate to public assistance agencies.

The Michigan Election Reform Alliance non-profit, non-partisan voting rights organization, welcomed DOJ’s new statement but warned that Michigan has a lot of work to do to comply with those guidelines.

“Michigan has no statutory requirements in place either for public assistance agencies or for public universities or for any other state-run/funded organizations.” said Jan Bendor, statewide coordinator for MERA.

BenDor said that Michigan’s 2008 efforts to provide more voter registration forms to clients at public service agencies did not fulfill the requirements of NVRA because the agencies don’t have sworn voter registrars to provide in-person registration.

“None of the clients given these forms would be able to vote by absentee in their first election — a serious drawback for many poor people.”

BenDor said that she believes that DHS staff are at least aware that they have a responsibility to provide voter registration but that other state agencies including those that deal with unemployment, public health, and indigent defense are not.

“Whether since 2008, DHS is continuing its more focused program of providing applications, is an open question given the distraction of severe budget cuts and a lame duck governor,” said BenDor.

Michigan’s Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land — a candidate for lt. governor on a Republican ticket with Mike Bouchard — has lost two lawsuits in federal court over violations of federal voting rights laws, including the NVRA and the Help America Vote Act (HAVA).

In one of those cases a settlement filed in federal court last month by Land promised to permanently stop removing voters from the rolls when they receive drivers licenses in other states or when their voter ID card is returned as undeliverable.