Automatic voter registration

Automatic voter registration (AVR) is a system that shifts registration from an opt-in to an opt-out model. When an eligible person provides information to a government agency, most often the motor vehicle department, the agency transmits that information to election officials and the person is registered unless he or she declines.

Oregon was the first to adopt it in 2015, and many states have followed. It builds on the "motor voter" provisions of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, which required agencies to offer registration but on an opt-in basis. Design varies, including how citizenship is verified, how data move between agencies and what happens with those who do not decline.

Supporters say AVR increases registration, cuts costs and improves list accuracy by keeping addresses updated. Opponents, including many conservatives, warn that automatic enrollment may register ineligible people, such as noncitizens, by mistake, and that it puts responsibility for accuracy on agencies; they prefer that people choose to register. States have reported isolated errors involving noncitizens, which officials describe as small and fixed, a topic linked to noncitizen voting. See also voter roll maintenance.