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Public Assistance Databases and Automatic Voter Registration: A Survey
In a survey conducted with public assistance agencies in 40 states and the District of Columbia, Demos asked about the feasibility of implementing an upgrade of voter registration databases based upon the records kept by these agencies. Responses enforce the conclusions of the voter registration modernization movement: collaboration among election officials and public assistance agencies will increase the efficiency and accuracy of our voter rolls, and lower the cost of maintenance.

Read the report here.
Featured Resources
This study highlights the recent success in Missouri of voter registration in public assistance agencies from August 2008 through May 2009, which is mandated in the 1993 National Voter Registration Act. Missouri registered over 112,000 new voters in one year through public assistance agencies.
The Research Database on the U.S. Voting System and Voting Technology provides access to empirical and analytical research about voting and elections to inform evidence-based reforms.
In this analysis, the Election Reform Project’s Molly Reynolds looks at what responses from a 2008 survey can tell us about what the public prefers in terms of election reform proposals—and the limits of relying on such data in this particular area.
Under the Voting Rights Act, any state-level change to voter registration rules must be approved by the U.S. Department of Justice. Georgia’s proposed VoteSafe program, designed to keep private the addresses of victims of domestic violence, was approved by the Department of Justice.
This supplemental report provides in-depth information on each state's election system.
Research Projects
The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law is a non-partisan public policy and law institute that focuses on fundamental issues of democracy and justice.
electionline.org provides daily news updates on election reform issues, as well as deeper analysis of selected topics, including recent reports on voter registration, recount procedures, and the progress in implementing the Help America Vote Act since 2002.
Project Vote is a national nonpartisan, nonprofit 501(c)(3) that works to empower, educate, and mobilize low-income, minority, youth, and other marginalized and under-represented voters.
Dēmos is a non-partisan public policy research and advocacy organization founded in 2000. A multi-issue national organization, Dēmoscombines research, policy development, and advocacy to influence public debates and catalyze change.
FairVote develops and promotes practical strategies to improve elections at the local, state and national levels.
The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
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The Brookings Institution
www.brookings.edu
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