Automatic voter registration has led to a spike in average registration rates in every state where it’s been implemented, according to a new analysis by the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law. In the first study of its kind, the Brennan Center analyzed the effects of automatic voter registration (AVR), a system in which eligible citizens are automatically registered to vote at agencies like the DMV unless they opt out.
Controlling for all other factors, the study shows that AVR has successfully increased voter registration rates in seven states and the District of Columbia. In short, automatic voter registration has chipped away at the antiquated obstacles to registering eligible citizens to vote.