Press Release: New Jersey Becomes 11th State to Enact Secure Automatic Voter Registration
Governor Murphy Signs S1636, Modernizing Voter Registration and Strengthening Election Security
CHICAGO — Earlier today, Governor Phil Murphy signed S1636 into law. This critical piece of legislation establishes Secure Automatic Voter Registration (SAVR) in New Jersey, enhancing and modernizing the state’s current Partial Automatic Voter Registration (PAVR) system.
The bill, passed by the New Jersey Legislature in December, updates how eligible residents are registered to vote when interacting with the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC). Under the state’s current PAVR system, people conducting a driver’s license or state ID transaction are offered the chance to register to vote if they affirm eligibility under penalty of perjury, unless they opt-out during the transaction. The newly passed SAVR system modernizes this process in several ways.
For Real ID transactions, eligible citizens who provide documentation during their MVC transaction confirming their eligibility – such as a U.S. Passport– will be automatically registered to vote and receive a mailer from election officials that can be used to decline registration. Additionally, if a registered voter provides a new name or address for their license or ID card, that information will be automatically used to update their voter registration record. Conversely, anyone who provides a document establishing non-citizenship – such as a green card – will be automatically filtered out of any registration process. This process will register more eligible voters, keep the voter rolls much more accurate, and add additional safeguards against unintentional registration by non-citizens.
S1636 also extends this process to the Department of Corrections. Under existing New Jersey law, people leaving incarceration are provided the opportunity by MVC to apply for a driver’s license or state ID card. Under this bill, any of these MVC transactions for people leaving prison will incorporate the same voter registration opportunities as other license and ID card transactions. This ensures that people leaving prison have the opportunity to register to vote at the precise moment their right to vote is restored.
“Upgrading New Jersey’s current Partial AVR system to Secure AVR is an essential step toward a more inclusive, efficient, and secure democracy,” said Sam Oliker-Friedland, Chief Executive Officer of the Institute for Responsive Government. “SAVR strengthens election administration, reduces errors, and ensures that eligible voters are accurately registered. Modernizing the system provides more opportunities for hundreds of thousands of eligible New Jerseyans to make their voices heard at the ballot box while maintaining strong security and eligibility protections. This is smart, commonsense policy for voters and election officials alike. This wouldn’t have been possible without leadership from Senator Andrew Zwicker, Representative Alexander Schnall, and Governor Murphy, alongside key partnerships from the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice and the New Jersey League of Women Voters.”
With the enactment of SAVR, New Jersey becomes the 11th state (along with the District of Columbia) to adopt this system and modernize voter registration systems to reflect how residents already interact with government. New Jersey will become the second most populous state with a SAVR system, trailing less than 1 million people behind Michigan, which holds the current top spot. States that have adopted similar reforms have seen cleaner voter rolls, more up-to-date registrations, and more efficient election administration.
To speak with an expert at Responsive Gov about SAVR in New Jersey and around the country, please contact dan@responsivegov.org.
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The Institute for Responsive Government is a nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to ensuring state and federal governments work effectively for the very people they serve. IRG provides data, research, and expertise to elected officials in order to find practical policy solutions that make government systems more efficient, accessible, and responsive.