ST. LOUIS –

United States Representative Wm. Lacy Clay and local leaders of ACORN say the State of Missouri is violating the National Voter Registration Act. The act calls for state offices to actively register voters doing business with state public assistance agencies.  But since the law’s passage in 1993, registrations from public assistance agencies in Missouri have actually decreased.

 “More than 10 years after Congress sought to remedy the disparity between low-income citizens and the democratic process of voting, the state of Missouri has thumbed its nose at the National Voter Registration Act,” said Rep. Clay.

“We should strengthen our democracy by registering to vote the thousands of people who visit Missouri agencies each month,” said the Rev. Gilbert Cox, President of St. Louis ACORN, which registered 35,820 low- and moderate-income Missouri voters in 2004. “Agencies that provide public assistance to low-income families should take part in guaranteeing everyone has a voice at the ballot box – but they’re not. It’s time Missouri stopped ignoring low-income people and start doing its job.”

Best known for its “motor voter” provision, a new ACORN, Demos and Project Vote study, called “Ten Years Later: A Promise Unfulfilled,” shows that after more than a decade virtually every state, including Missouri, is falling down on the job of registering voters as part of the democratic process.
 

“They are failing the American voter,” Rep. Clay said of the states. “They are failing the goals of the National Voter Registration Act. They are failing democracy by perpetuating disenfranchisement among those Americans who we know feel like they are outside the system. The State of Missouri is violating federal law. It’s time that Gov. Blunt took action to enforce the NVRA.”

Conceived as the “next step” to the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act, the NVRA instituted voter registration at state Departments of Motor Vehicles nationwide. Also, the law designated public assistance offices as voter registration agencies because many low-income, urban citizens are least likely to have drivers’ licenses or own cars and thus be missed as a “motor voter.” But, the study shows that Missouri has failed miserably to encourage voter registration at public assistance agencies.

While voter registration applications rose in Missouri by 31.9 percent since 1995, the number of registration applications from Missouri public assistance agencies declined by 87.7 percent between 1995 and 2004.Nationwide, 36 of 41 states reporting show a decline in registration applications from public assistance agencies since 1995. Yet, with that decline, registrations from other sources rose by 22 percent compared to a public assistance decline of 59.6 percent.
 

“Gov. Blunt and the state of Missouri must take immediate steps to ensure all public assistance agencies are offering voter registration to applicants who conduct business with their offices,” Congressman Clay said. “The Justice Department, as required by law, must investigate states’ compliance with the public assistance portion of the law and where violations are found, take immediate legal action to ensure compliance.”
 

In September, Congressman Clay joined 29 other members of Congress in endorsing a letter to U.S. Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, calling for a federal investigation into lack of state participation.
 

The letter -- authored by U.S. Rep. John Conyers, Jr., Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee -- was sent Sept. 20 to Attorney General Gonzalez demanding that the Department of Justice investigate and enforce state compliance with Section 7 of the National Voter Registration Act.

##

TEXT OF SEPTEMBER 20, 2005 NVRA LETTER

Dear Attorney General Gonzales,

We write to request that the Department of Justice take immediate and aggressive action to investigate states' compliance with Section 7 of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA). Section 7 requires all public assistance agencies, such as welfare, Medicaid, and Food Stamps offices, to promote voter registration among all applicants. A recent, comprehensive study produced by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), Demos, and Project Vote shows virtually every state has experienced steep declines in registration from Section 7 agencies, while overall NVRA registration has increased. The nationwide drop in Section 7 registration, a good indication of states' failure to properly comply with the law, warrants a national response.

All too often, the voices of low-income, minority citizens go unheard in our democratic process. In 1993, Congress passed the NVRA with a provision intended to increase voter registration in low-income communities. The goal of the NVRA, best known for its "Motor Voter" provision, was to increase overall voter registration in the United States. Congress also included Section 7 in order to increase voter registration among low-income citizens. 

On the ten-year anniversary of NVRA implementation, the new ACORN, Demos, and Project Vote study shows that nearly every state in the country is registering fewer voters through public assistance agencies than they did when the Act was first implemented, failing low-income communities and our democracy.

Lack of Section 7 implementation is reflected in the NVRA registration data reported to Congress by the Federal Election Commission and the Election Assistance Commission:The number of registration applications from public assistance agencies is declining. Since 1995, 36 of 41 states reporting show a decline in registration applications from public assistance agencies.
 

Public assistance registrations are declining, while those from other sources are increasing. Since 1995, registration applications from public assistance agencies nationwide fell by 59.6%, while applications from all other sources rose 22%.A chart with registration data for each state is included in the enclosed report.The specific NVRA violations causing the decline of Section 7 registrations vary by state:
Some states fail to offer any voter registration services in public assistance offices. In some instances, the failure is limited to specific offices or programs within an agency and in other instances, entire agencies have no registration services.Some offices do offer voter registration, and do so year round, but fail to offer voter registration services during all required points of contact with clients, most notably during change of address procedures. Offices also fail to offer voter registration when clients receive service via phone, mail, or Internet.
 

Many jurisdictions have neglected to use the exact language required by the NVRA, which intentionally captures those who have recently changed address.Staff often receive little or no training about voter registration or NVRA requirements. We call on the Department of Justice to take immediate action to enforce Section 7 of the NVRA. We are deeply troubled that despite well-documented, flagrant violations of the law, the current Department has taken little action against states to ensure compliance. The Department has yet to act on several reports provided by ACORN, Dçmos, and Project Vote between August 2004 and February 2005 that include specific state violations of Section 7 of the NVRA.

The Department of Justice must rigorously enforce the requirements imposed by the National Voter Registration Act. We look forward to your detailed response as to how the Department will fulfill that obligation in regards to Section 7 of the NVRA. Please respond to the Judiciary Committee Minority Office, 2142 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515, telephone number, 202-225-6504, fax number, 202-225-4423.

Sincerely,

Cong. John Conyers, Jr.  

Cong. Major R. Owens

Cong. John Lewis            

Cong. Gene Green

Cong. Albert R. Wynn     

Cong. Barbara Lee

Cong. Jan Schakowsky   

Cong. David Scott

Cong. Alcee L. Hastings  

Cong. Elijah E. Cummings

Cong. Sanford Bishop, Jr.

Cong. Eddie Bernice Johnson

Cong. Jim McDermott      

Cong. Dennis J. Kucinich

Cong. Joe Baca               

Cong. Donald M. Payne

Cong. James P. Moran    

Cong. Stephanie Herseth

Cong. Al Green   

Cong. Robert Menendez

Cong. Raul M. Grijalva  

Cong. Bernie Sanders

Cong. Emmanuel Cleaver  

Cong. William Lacy Clay

Cong. Betty McCollum  

Cong. Melvin L. Watt

Cong. Rush Holt   

Cong. Jesse Jackson, Jr.

Cong. Lloyd Doggett

Cong. Maxine Waters