Avoid Voter Ineligibility
To be eligible to vote in the United States, a person must be a U.S. citizen and at least eighteen years of age. In a report to Congress, the impact of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 on the Administration of Elections for Federal Office, 2003–2004, the Federal Election Commission states that in 2004 there were 221.3 million total citizens eighteen years and older in the United States. Of that number, 174.8 million, or about 79%, were registered to vote. However, a significant number of these registrants, 19.5 million, were considered inactive, meaning they had not recently participated in election voting and in many cases had moved to other jurisdictions. Each state determines for itself how long an individual may remain on the list of registered voters without voting.
Minority groups have traditionally trailed when it comes to registering to vote and actually voting. In 1993 Congress enacted the National Voter Registration Act, which became popularly known as the “Motor Voter Act,” because it included provisions to enable driver’s license applicants to simultaneously register to vote. According to the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, the NVRA was adopted “to enhance voting opportunities for every American and to remove the vestiges of discrimination which have historically resulted in lower voter registration rates of minorities and people with disabilities. The NVRA has brought new voices to the political process by making it easier for all Americans to exercise their fundamental right to vote.”
