When Congress passed the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) in 1993, its goals were to "increase the number of eligible citizens who register to vote in elections for Federal office" and "protect the integrity of the electoral process." Yet, while most states created effective programs for mail-in and Department of Motor Vehicles-based registration processes, many neglected the NVRA's social service agency requirements (detailed in Section 7).
Today headlines are filled with stories of middle-class families struggling to survive the current downturn. But the problems of middle-class families did not start with the recession.
Between 2000 and 2006, the number of middle-class families that lacked economic security grew from 19 to 23 million. Decline in assets, the rising cost of housing, and more families lacking health insurance depleted middle-class economic resources, leaving millions of families poorly positioned to weather the current recession.
It is becoming increasingly difficult for Americans to achieve and sustain a middle-class life. The costs of homeownership, healthcare and a college education have soared, while incomes have stagnated. According to the Middle Class Security Index, a measure developed by Demos and the Institute on Assets and Social Policy at Brandeis University, fewer than one third of middle-income families were securely in the middle class in 2006, while a quarter were at high risk of falling out of the middle class.
Same Day Voter Registration (also known as Election Day Registration) permits eligible citizens to register and vote on the same day.
This fact sheet outlines some of the advantages of Same Day Registration, particularly its impact on voter turnout and its potential to ensure that every vote is properly counted, as well as a look at why we need Same Day Registration in America's "patchwork quilt of registration processes," and some success stories from states that have successfully utilized Same Day Registration in the 2008 presidential election.
Demos' Director of Legal Strategies, Chiraag Bains, highlights what you need to know about SCOTUS nominee, Brett Kavanaugh and what he could mean for the future of the court.
We have analyzed the likely impact on voter turnout should California adopt Election Day Registration (EDR). The availability of EDR procedures should give voters who have not previously registered or need to update their information the opportunity to vote. Consistent with existing research on the impact of Election Day Registration in the other states that use this process, we find that EDR would likely lead to substantial increases in voter turnout. We offer the following voter turnout estimates for California under EDR:
R. Michael Alvarez of the California Institute of Technology and Jonathan Nagler of NYU analyze the likely impact of Election Day Registration on voter turnout in Iowa.
Election Day Registration (EDR), sometimes called “same day registration” (SDR), allows eligible voters to register and cast a ballot on Election Day. Nine states currently have EDR or SDR laws. Maine, Minnesota and Wisconsin adopted EDR in the 1970s. Idaho, New Hampshire and Wyoming enacted Election Day Registration two decades later. Montana implemented EDR in 2006.
Twelve years since the enactment of the NVRA, states across the country have regularly failed to comply with public assistance voter registration requirements.
2007 was the first year that the North Carolina General Assembly seriously considered Same Day Registration. SDR bills had been introduced in prior years and attracted legislative support, but never gained sufficient traction. This report recounts North Carolina's road to Same Day Registration from three different perspectives: legislative supporters, elections officials and the advocacy community.
We have analyzed the likely impact on voter turnout should Vermont adopt Election Day Registration (EDR). Under the system proposed in Vermont, eligible voters who miss the current six-day deadline for registering by mail may be able to register to vote on Election Day. The availability of Election Day Registration procedures should give voters who have not previously registered the opportunity to vote. Consistent with existing research on the impact of EDR in the other states that use this process, we find that EDR would likely lead to substantial increases in voter turnout.
Credit card debt continues to threaten the financial stability of many low- and middle-income families in the United States, hampering their ability to save and move up the economic ladder. When shortfalls arise, credit has been the only available safety net to help these families make ends meet. In this economic crisis, even though America’s households took on less credit card debt in 2008 than the year before, high levels of revolving debt from previous charges and compounding interest keep balances high and trap families in a vicious cycle.
Congress passed the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) in 1993 in order to increase the number of eligible citizens who register to vote in federal elections. To help meet this goal, Section 7 of the NVRA requires state public assistance agencies to provide voter registration services to applicants and clients. Recent research has indicated that the number of voter registration applications from public assistance agencies has de- clined 79 percent since initial implementation of the law in 1995.
Even before the Great Recession of 2008, today's young adults were on track to have the dubious distinction of being the first generation in a century not likely to end up better off than their parents. Stagnant wages, job insecurity, the decline in employer sponsored health insurance and retirement benefits, rapid increases in the cost of basic expenses, soaring debt, and minimal savings have diminished the prospects for opportunity and mobility.
America's students are facing a serious threat from subprime private loans, and the situation could worsen unless Congress votes to close a potential loophole in the proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency.
Report authors R. Michael Alvarez and Jonathan Nagler have analyzed the likely impact on voter turnout should New Mexico adopt Same Day Registration (SDR). Under the system proposed in New Mexico, eligible voters who miss the current 28-day deadline for registering by mail may be able to register to vote during the state's early voting period. The availability of Same Day Registration procedures should give voters who have not previously registered the opportunity to vote.
“Same Day Registration” (SDR) allows eligible citizens to register and vote on or before Election Day. In doing so, SDR greatly enhances the opportunity for Americans to participate in the electoral process and cast a ballot that will be properly counted. States that allow for Same Day Registration consistently lead the nation in voter turnout. Nine states and the District of Columbia currently have Same Day Registration.
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Advocates, educators and students often make the assumption that more education is always better, that a bachelors or graduate degree is always superior in terms of providing additional economic opportunity. As the following report show, this is not always the case.
