[EL] This law would help protect US elections — so why won’t Republicans support it?

[Doug Hess]

My latest guest column on elections, this time for The Hill.
https://thehill.com/opinion/civil-rights/3471351-this-law-would-help-protect-us-elections-so-why-wont-republicans-support-it/

Given space constraints, I didn't have time to go into how some efforts to
force states to comply with competing interpretations of Section 8 of the
NVRA--related to list maintenance--likely result in fewer changes to lists
than simply expanding voter registration efforts.

The tl;dr version:

"...[S]ubstantial improvements in voter registration are within reach if
more states complied with the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), a law
that has been in effect for over  25 years.

Conservative activists have often expressed concern about outdated or
erroneous records on registration lists, and continue to push for
aggressive list cleaning in the name of election security. Because such
procedures can mistakenly remove registrants and may disproportionately
harm minority voters, liberal activists have questioned the motives behind
these attempts.

Overlooked by both sides, however, is that the NVRA’s voter registration
programs clean the rolls as they expand them. ...

Conventional wisdom about elections sees a tradeoff between access and
security, but that’s an oversimplification. NVRA-mandated registration
efforts are essential to list accuracy, in large part because Americans
move so often. ...

Properly implemented, the NVRA helps re-register movers and remove or
correct their old registrations. The U.S. Election Assistance Commission
(EAC) reports that 60 percent of valid voter registration applications
between the 2018 and 2020 elections were updates to name, address or party.
Simply put, as more people are offered registration, more updates are made.
...

Even though the NVRA has been on the books for years, many states still
fail to fully comply. Indeed, in its 2014 final report, the Presidential
Commission on Election Administration called the NVRA “the election statute
most often ignored.” ...

Securing improved NVRA compliance requires constant monitoring, as the DOJ
and advocates have caught several states violating the Act more than once.
As it has done previously, Congress should hold hearings on NVRA compliance
and push for greater enforcement by the DOJ. State legislators should also
monitor compliance and make registration at all NVRA agencies an opt-out
procedure.

The EAC can do much more, too. The NVRA requires the Commission to assess
implementation and provide recommendations for improved administration of
the law. Despite this, the EAC, which has frequently offered detailed
comments on list cleaning, has been silent on NVRA non-compliance.
Considering the gravity of the situation, that must change.

Access and security can work hand-in-hand. Because democracy needs its
citizens not only to participate but also to believe in the fairness and
integrity of elections, improving voter registration should be a high
priority.

Liberal advocates have been active in encouraging NVRA compliance and
enhancing government voter registration programs for some time. If their
conservative counterparts are sincerely interested in the quality of
registration lists, they should join them."
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Douglas R. Hess has taught political science at Grinnell College, Smith
College, Georgetown University, and George Washington University. Since
1994, he has advised officials and civil rights advocates on implementing
the National Voter Registration Act. @douglasrhess

-Doug Hess, Ph.D.
http://www.douglasrhess.com  @douglasrhess
https://www.linkedin.com/in/douglasrhess/
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