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Report Shows Voter Registration Progress in Ohio

Increasing access to voter registration opportunities for low-income citizens is working in Ohio, according to a new report from the advocacy group Demos.

Over 100,000 low-income Ohio citizens have already submitted voter registration applications as a result of steps the state has taken to comply with Section 7 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993–specifically its requirement that states’ public assistance offices offer voter registration opportunities and related services–according to a new report published this week by Demos.

Since passage of the NVRA, many states have neglected Section 7 of the Act, which requires that states public assistance agencies offer voter registration in conjunction with benefits applications, renewals and changes of address. Just before Thanksgiving of this past year, Ohio settled a three-year old lawsuit brought by Demos and its partners at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and Project Vote, with help from pro bono law firm Dechert LLP, on behalf of low-income Ohio citizens who had not received the required voter registration services.

“Ohio’s experience–the subject of this report–offers valuable lessons both for advocates and for state officials seeking to encourage voter registration and to achieve the full promise of the NVRA,” said report author Lisa Danetz.

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Ohio’s initial success is evident at the individual and county level as well, with larger county DJFS offices now submitting registration applications for significant numbers of clients every month, several counties that had not registered a single voter in the 2003-2004 reporting period now collecting over 100 registration applications each month, and smaller counties registering a significant percentage of their clients.

Ms. Danetz stated, “The results in Ohio show that, with proper implementation of the public agency provisions of the NVRA, hundreds of thousands or even millions of eligible low-income citizens throughout the country can be added to the ranks of registered voters, allowing increased political participation and moving closer to a fully inclusive and representative democracy.”

I wonder how well other states are doing?

Tags: Ohio, voter registration