Are Youautomatically Registered For The Draft When You Register To Vote

Automated voter registration (AVR) is a process in which eligible individuals are automatically registered to vote when interacting with certain government agencies, such as a department of motor vehicles. Data gathered from the government agency is transmitted to election officials who employ it to either create a new voter record or update an existing registration. This process is triggered by interaction with a participating government agency, but it is not compulsory. Individuals may opt out of registration at the agency or later by returning a mailer, depending on the state.

As of January 2022, 22 states and Washington, D.C., are categorized by NCSL as having enacted or implemented automatic voter registration.

How AVR Works

In 1993, Congress passed theNational Voter Registration Deed (NVRA). The NVRA pioneered a new way to annals to vote in America: It required most states to provide citizens with an opportunity to register to vote when applying for or renewing a driver'south license at a department of motor vehicles (DMV) or other designated country agencies. Because of the requirement for DMVs to participate in voter registration, the NVRA is often referred to as "motor voter."

Some states utilise the same automated processes to other country-designated agencies covered under NVRA. UnderSection 7 of the NVRA, whatever land office that provides public aid or operates country-funded programs that serve individuals with disabilities must offer opportunities to register to vote. The police force also requires states to designate boosted offices providing voter registration services.

Since the passage of the NVRA, the collection of voter information has shifted from paper-based forms to digital records, with many state DMV systems linking electronically to statewide voter registration databases. This allows the DMV to non merely collect data on eligible voters but also electronically transfer that information to the voter registration database. Electronic data transfers are more authentic and less resources intensive.

In January 2016, Oregon became the first country to implement AVR. In what is sometimes referred to equally the "Oregon model," an eligible voter who interacts with the DMV is not asked whether they would like to register to vote, but instead is automatically opted into registering. The voter is soon sent a notification informing them they were registered and that they can opt out by returning the notification.

Other states which have adopted AVR accept chosen different approaches, characterized by the point at which a voter may opt out of being registered to vote. The majority of AVR states use ane of two approaches:

Front-end opt out: With this approach, the customer at the DMV may choose to register to vote or decline to register at the point of service. The DMV will bear witness an electronic screen request whether they would like to register to vote. If they pass up, the voter is non registered. If they affirm, in states where voters take the pick of affiliating with a political party, the next screen will ask if they would similar to practice so.
Back-end opt out: Customers during their agency transaction provide data needed to register to vote. Subsequently the transaction occurs, the customer is notified past the agency via a postal service-transaction mailer that they will be registered to vote, unless they respond to the notification and decline. If the customer takes no activeness, they volition be registered to vote. In this approach, registration data is automatically transferred, and customers may choose to decline or affiliate later on receiving the post-transaction mailer.

See the table beneath for details on enactment dates, enabling legislation, participating state agencies and opt out method.

Table 2: States that take enacted automatic voter registration*
State	Year Enacted	Bill Number	Year Implemented	Participating Agencies	Type of Opt-Out
Alaska	2016	Mensurate one	2017	Permanent Fund Dividend	Back-finish (post-transaction mailer)
California	2015	AB 1461	2018	DMV	Front-end (indicate-of-service)
Colorado	due north/a	Done through Department of Motor Vehicles arrangement	2017	DMV, Department of Health, and other agencies designated past the secretary of state	Back-end (post-transaction mailer)
Connecticut	2016	Agreement betwixt Secretary of State and Section of Motor Vehicles	2016	DMV	Forepart-end (point-of-service)
Delaware	2021	SB 5	Statutory borderline of 2023	DMV, Department of Health and Social Services, Department of Labor, whatever country agency selected past its primary administrator to provide voter registration services for its employees and the public	Back-end (postal service-transaction mailer)
District of Columbia	2016	B21-0194	2018	DMV	Front-end (point-of-service)
Georgia	2016	Done through Section of Driver Services and Attorney General'south part	2016	DMV	Front-end (point-of-service)
Hawaii	2021	SB 159	2021	DMV	Front-terminate (point-of-service)
Illinois	2017	SB 1933	2018	DMV and other agencies designated past the State Lath of Elections	Front-end (point-of-service)
Maine	2019	HB 1070	Anticipated 2022	DMV and other designated "source agencies"	Front-end (point-of-service)
Maryland	2018	SB 1048	2019	DMV, health benefit exchange, local departments of social services and the Mobility Certification Part	Front-terminate (point-of-service)
Massachusetts	2018	HB 4834	2020	DMV, division of medical assist, health insurance connector authority, other agencies verified by the secretarial assistant of state that collect "reliable citizenship information"	Dorsum-end (post-transaction mailer)
Michigan	2018	Election Proposal iii	2019	DMV	Forepart-cease (bespeak-of-service)
New Jersey	2018	AB 2014	2018	DMV and other state agencies designated by the secretary of state	Front-end (point-of-service)
New Mexico	2019	SB 672	2020	DMV	Front-end (signal-of-service)
New York	2020	SB 8806	Predictable 2023	DMV, DOH, DOL and boosted agencies	Front end-end (signal-of-service)
Nevada	2018	Ballot Question Number 5 AB 345 AB 432	2020**	DMV (in 2020) Section of Health and Human Services, agencies designated by the Department of Health and Homo Services to receive applications for Medicaid, the Silver State Health Insurance Exchange and any other state agency or tribal agency that meets certain requirements and is approved by the Governor (past 2024)	Front-end (betoken-of-service)
Oregon	2015	HB 2177	2016	DMV	Dorsum-cease (post-transaction mailer)
Rhode Island	2017	HB 5702	2018	DMV and other state agencies designated past the secretary of land	Front end-stop (point-of-service)
Vermont	2016	HB 458	2017	DMV and other country agencies designated past the secretary of state	Front-end (betoken-of-service)
Virginia	2020	HB 235	Anticipated 2020	DMV	Front-end (signal-of-service)
Washington	2018	HB 2595	2019	DMV, health benefit substitution, other land agencies canonical by the secretary of state	Front-end (point-of-service)
Due west Virginia	2016	HB 4013	Implementation deadline 2021	DMV	Front-cease (betoken-of-service)

*In some states, NCSL uses its own arroyo for categorization. If a legislature enacts a nib with the words "automatic" or "automated" in information technology to describe a paperless system for registering voters at DMVs or other country agencies, we include them on this folio. Likewise, if, through existing authorisation and administrative activity a state moves toward either of the two categories, we include them. Final, if we hear from a representative of the state's primary ballot official (ofttimes the secretary of state) that their system qualifies equally automatic or automated, we add them, too.

**Nevada'due south AVR arrangement consists of two phases. The first phase established AVR through the DMV and was implemented on January. 1, 2020, afterwards voters approved Ballot Question Number 5 in 2018 and the legislature enacted enabling legislation, AB 345, in 2019. The second phase, created by AB 432 in 2021, expands AVR to country agencies beyond the DMV. The implementation deadline for phase two is January. 1, 2024.

What Are the Benefits of Automatic Voter Registration?

Proponents of automatic voter registration say the policy will remove barriers to registration for eligible voters, the start step on the way to increasing voter participation. By registering through a routine and necessary transaction such every bit those at the DMV, voters won't have to worry about registration deadlines or application submissions.

Automatic registration tin can help with voter registration listing maintenance because the process updates existing registrations with electric current addresses. Make clean voter rolls form a strong basis for accurate elections, with the added benefit of reducing the use of costly provisional ballots, which are a fail-safe voting option when in that location is a discrepancy in a voter's registration condition. Some supporters also say automatic voter registration leads to college voter turnout, although evidence supporting this merits is mixed.

What Are the Disadvantages of Automatic Voter Registration?

Opponents of automatic voter registration may say that the government should not tell citizens they must register to vote, particularly in states that provide the "opt-out" choice by mail, after the fact. Furthermore, they question whether opt-out forms that are sent and received through the mail are sufficient to ensure an individual can decline to register.

Boosted Resources

Land Election Legislation Database, NCSL
Automatic Voter Registration at Motor Vehicle Agencies, Heart for Tech and Civic Life
Voter Registration, MIT Ballot Data and Science Lab
Measuring Motor Voter , The Pew Charitable Trusts