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National Voter Registration Act Studies

Wednesday, May 08, 2024

In 2002, HAVA transferred the responsibility of administering a biennial survey on the impact of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC).  EAC is required to submit a report to Congress assessing the impact of NVRA on the administration of elections for Federal office during the preceding 2-year period. This report includes recommendations for improvements in Federal and state procedures, forms and other matters. Before 2002, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) was responsible for assessing the impact of the NVRA. 

 

 

2013 - 2014 NVRA Report

A Report to the 114th Congress, June 30, 2015


The Impact of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 on the Administration of Elections for Federal Office 2013-2014

For the first time, EAC is presenting the NVRA Report to Congress in one all-inclusive report that includes data on the ability of civilian, military and overseas citizens to register to vote and successfully cast a ballot. For the 2014 NVRA Report and data sets, see the 2014 Election Administration and Voting Survey (EAVS).

 

 

2011 - 2012 NVRA Report

A Report to the 113th Congress, June 24, 2013


The Impact of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 on the Administration of Elections for Federal Office 2011-2012
2012 NVRA Report Cover Letter
2012 NVRA Report Datasets: XLS, SPSS, DBF Part 1, DBF Part II
2012 NVRA Data File Codebook
Data Overview

[ NOTE:  Please also see the 2012 Election Administration and Voting Survey (EAVS) that includes datasets on the ability of civilian, military and overseas citizens to successfully cast a ballot. The survey contains the most comprehensive, nationwide data about election administration in the United States. The EAVS data is used for two federally mandated reports – the NVRA Report (motor voter) and the UOCAVA Report (military & overseas citizens) ]

 

 

2009 - 2010 NVRA Report

A Report to the 112th Congress, June 30th 2011

The Impact of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 on the Administration of Elections for Federal Office 2009-2010
2010 NVRA Report Cover Letter
2010 Election Administration & Voting Survey Instrument
2010 NVRA Report Datasets: XLS, SPSS, DBF Part 1, DBF Part II
     Texas Revised NVRA Data (per the State's Request - XLS) 
     Illinois Revised NVRA Data (per the State's Request - XLS)     
2010 NVRA Data File Codebook

Data Overview

 

* EAC staff received Kentucky's data certification page dated March 1, 2011.

** California’s same day registration data for Alameda County (question A4a) is incorrect and, according to the state, no revised data is available. The number of same day registration applications in California is not 1,897,328 as previously reported. Readers of the report and users of California’s data should exercise caution when interpreting and analyzing data for question A4a. Additionally, readers should note that the total number of same day registrations for the 16 states that received these types of applications is likely to be far less than 2,376,178 as previously reported. Revised NVRA Table 5.

*** A Note About Our Election Data: EAC's Election Administration and Voting Survey asks states for the number of registered voters at the state and county levels. EAC does not request voting age population (VAP) data at the county level (CVAP). The Census Bureau estimates VAP (and CVAP). The EAC’s NVRA report shows only state level figures for the number of registered voters; the publicly available datasets include county level registration figures. The VAP and CVAP information that appears in the NVRA report comes from the Census Bureau and does not include county level data.

Report Highlights

The EAC’s 2009-2010 Impact of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) of 1993 on the Administration of Elections for Federal Office report covers the 2-year period between the November 2008 elections through the November 2010 elections.

The 2009-2010 NVRA report is based on the results of a survey of all States, the District of Columbia, and four territories—American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

As with past reports, responses from many States and territories varied significantly. Six States and all territories are exempt from the provisions of the NVRA, and other States may not collect voter registration data in a way that is compatible with the survey. In some cases, local jurisdictions’ challenges with meeting States’ requests for data limited the States’ ability to respond completely.

In some areas, however, State reporting improved. For example, in 2008 several non-exempt States did not report data for the total number of registration applications received and the number of registration applications received by source; in 2010 all non-exempt States reported this information, as did several NVRA-exempt States.

Select Findings from the Report

  • Voter registration decreased during the two years leading up to the 2010 elections. The total number of voters reported to be eligible and registered for the November 2010 elections was nearly 187 million, a decrease of more than 3.6 million from the 2008 elections. Yet it was an increase of about 14 million voters from the last midterm election in 2006.

  • States and territories reported receiving more than 45 million voter registration forms. Use of the mail (or fax or e mail) was up from the previous election cycle, with 21% of registration forms being delivered through these means. Another 14.5% of applications were made in person at elections offices, and 37% through motor vehicle agencies. Seventeen States reported receiving voter registration applications over the Internet, which accounted for nearly 2% of all registration forms.

  • Of the 45 million voter registration forms received, nearly 14.4 million of these applications were from new voters; that is, voters who were not previously registered in the local jurisdiction or had not previously registered in any jurisdiction (there were fewer than 24.6 million new registrants during the 2006 to 2008 election cycle and 17.3 million during the 2004 to 2006 election cycle). More than 18 million of the registration forms received represented a change to name, address, or party of the registrant.

  • States and territories found invalid or otherwise rejected nearly 1.4 million applications, and found that 2.9 million applications were duplicates of existing registrations. Altogether, 9.4% of registration applications were invalid or duplicates.

  • States and territories sent 14.6 million removal confirmation notices to names on their registration rolls, as allowed by NVRA after two cycles of voter inactivity. More than 15 million voters were removed from voter registration lists, for reasons including death, felony conviction, failure to respond to a confirmation notice and failure to vote in consecutive elections, having moved from one jurisdiction to another, or at the voter’s request. 

 

 

 2007 - 2008 NVRA Report

A Report to the 111th Congress, June 30th 2009

NOTE: The data submitted by Kentucky and Illinois were mistakenly excluded from the dataset.

Report Highlights

The EAC’s most recent Impact of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) of 1993 on the Administration of Elections for Federal Office report covers the 2-year period between the November 2006 elections through the November 2008 elections.

The 2008 NVRA report is based on the results of a survey of all States, the District of Columbia, and four territories—American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

As with past reports, responses from many States and territories varied significantly. Six States and all territories are exempt from the provisions of the NVRA, and others did not collect voter registration data in a way that was compatible with the survey.1  In some cases, local election officials’ challenges with meeting States’ requests for data limited the States’ ability to respond completely.

Select Findings from the Report

  • Voter registration increased significantly during the two years leading up to the 2008 elections. The total number of voters reported to be eligible and registered for the November 2008 elections was at least 189 million, an increase of more than 17.5 million from the 2006 elections. It was also an increase of about 16.6 million voters from the last presidential election in 2004.

  • States and territories reported receiving more than 60 million voter registration forms. Use of the mail (or fax or e mail) was up from the previous election cycle, with 28.8% of registration forms being delivered through these sources. Another 14.9% of applications were made in person at elections offices, and 30.1% through motor vehicle agencies. A limited number of States reported receiving voter registration applications over the Internet.

  • Of the 60 million voter registration forms received, nearly 24.6 million of these applications were from new voters; that is, voters who were not previously registered in the local jurisdiction or had not previously registered in any jurisdiction (there were  fewer than 17.3 million new registrants during the 2004 to 2006 election cycle). More than 20 million of the registration forms requested represented a change to name, address, or party of the registrant.

  • States and territories found invalid or otherwise rejected nearly 1.7 million applications, and found that 3.6 million applications were duplicates of existing registrations. Altogether, 8.8% of registration applications were invalid or duplicates.

  • States and territories sent more than 18 million removal notices to names on their registration rolls, as allowed by NVRA after two cycles of voter inactivity.

  • From 18 million removal notices sent, more than 12 million voters were removed from voter registration lists, for reasons including death, felony conviction, failure to vote in consecutive elections, having moved from one jurisdiction to another, or at the voter’s request.

1The six States are Idaho, Minnesota, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. They are exempt because they allowed Election Day registration at the time of the passage of the NVRA, or, in the case of North Dakota, have no voter registration at all. The territories are not subject to the NVRA. 

 

2005 - 2006 NVRA Report

A Report to the 110th Congress, June 30th 2007

 

 

2003 - 2004 NVRA Report

A Report to the 109th Congress, June 30th 2005

 

 

2001 - 2002 NVRA Report Produced by the FEC

A Report to the 108th Congress, June 30th 2003

 

 

1999 - 2000 NVRA Report Produced by the FEC

A Report to the 107th Congress, June 30th 2001

 

 

1997 - 1998 NVRA Report Produced by the FEC

A Report to the 106th Congress, June 30th 1999

 

 

1995- 1996 NVRA Report Produced by the FEC

A Report to the 105th Congress, June 30th 1997