The Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) was enacted in response to issues with the administration of the 2000 elections. The highest-profile problems in those elections were in Florida—where disputes about the vote count delayed the resolution of the presidential race for weeks—but post-election hearings and reports…

This CRS In Focus provides an overview of existing voter registration policy and law in federal elections and discusses how the voter registration and voter identification (ID) provisions in certain recent legislation would affect the status quo. As discussed in the following sections, current federal law prohibits al…

State and local election officials engage in a variety of efforts to ensure that ineligible voters do not vote. Voter eligibility for federal elections is largely established by qualifications set forth in the U.S. Constitution in the Fourteenth, Fifteenth, Nineteenth and Twenty-Sixth Amendments. Processes for assessi…

Each state except North Dakota requires voter registration as a prerequisite for voting in federal elections. The accuracy of voter registration records is often considered important for election administration, as these records are typically used to create poll books (lists of eligible voters) or otherwise assess the…

Voter registration policies are typically determined by state and local governments, subject to certain federal requirements. Historically, much of the federal policy discussion surrounding voter registration has focused on providing access to registration opportunities. Some federal statutes that primarily address pr…

Historically, most aspects of election administration have been left to state and local governments, resulting in a variety of practices across jurisdictions with respect to voter registration. States can vary on a number of elements of the voter registration process, including whether or not to require voter registra…