Last June OMB Watch was very concerned about rules in Florida that would make voter registration drives very difficult and risky. The law was later overturned as unconstitutional, but one can argue damage was done and a trend of regulating voter registration drives continued. The issue of protecting nonprofits' ability to conduct such valuable efforts has resurfaced. "American democracy depends on private groups more than the government to register voters. As a result, registration efforts have always been sources of political friction."

This past week on Wednesday, July 23, the Senate Rules Committee held a hearing on the Ballot Integrity Act of 2007 (S. 1487). Section III of the bill would prohibit states from passing laws that would hinder voter registration drives. The provision states; "No State shall refuse to register an individual to vote on the grounds that such individual's voter registration application was submitted to the State by a third party." League of Women Voters President Mary G. Wilson testified during the hearing. "Organizations such as the League are crucial to assuring that voter registration is available to EVERY voter, but the facts also show conclusively that we are key to assuring that minority voters have access to registration."

As this blog posting from the Nation details, "There are some divisions within the pro-democracy/voter reform community about some aspects of the bill, but there can be no mistaking the importance of protecting efforts to expand voting participation." The issue of providing a verified paper record of the voter's vote is contentious, but again, the capability of third party registration groups to do such work is imperative.

One of the new commissioners on the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) seeks input from voter rights organizations. If you would like to provide such a contribution, see this press release from EAC Vice-Chair Rosemary E. Rodriguez. "I seek to gauge whether there is interest in participating in monthly brownbag lunch discussions about issues that impact voters as we approach the 2008 election. I also seek input on the agenda, including the topics of discussion, for these sessions, which would take place at EAC's office in Washington, D.C."