Blog Post: 61 Years After the Voting Rights Act, States Continue to Lead on Voter Participation and Election Security

On August 6, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act (VRA) into law — one of the cornerstones of American democracy.

Sixty-one years later, that anniversary is worth pausing on. Emerging from the Civil Rights Movement, the VRA was explicitly enacted to dismantle racial disenfranchisement and eliminate discriminatory barriers — such as literacy tests and poll taxes — that historically prevented Black Americans and other racial minorities from voting. It remains a landmark commitment to ensuring that every eligible citizen — regardless of race, ethnicity, age, disability, or location — can exercise the right to vote and upholds constitutional protections against discrimination at the ballot box,

But while the VRA established critical federal protections, the day-to-day work of running elections has always belonged to the states. The Constitution gives states primary authority over how their citizens register, vote, and are counted. This is the idea behind the Institute for Responsive Government’s Making Participation Possible work: practical, nonpartisan reforms that make it easier for eligible voters to register and vote, while keeping the process accurate and secure. Below, we explore policies that states are using right now to promote civic participation and ensure that every eligible voter can confidently and securely cast a ballot.

Policies for Participation

Registration That Works the Way People Already Do
The DMV is where most Americans’ identity and address information is already on file and verified. Secure Automatic Voter Registration (Secure AVR) builds on that: Verified information already provided for a driver’s license — including proof of citizenship and residency — can be used to automatically register an eligible voter or update their address with the person receiving a letter notifying them of the change and offering a simple opt-out opportunity. States with Secure AVR see opt-out rates near 1%, versus roughly half under “partial” AVR models. This is a rare policy that expands access, secures the voter rolls, improves list accuracy, and speeds up the DMV line all at once.

Online voter registration is another secure registration pathway that allows eligible voters to register electronically rather than use a paper form. Some form of online voter registration has been adopted in 42 states. But in many states, it is limited to people with a state DMV-issued ID. Not every eligible voter has a license, though. Online Voter Registration+ (OVR+), an expansion adopted in 13 states, closes that gap by letting eligible voters without a DMV ID register online with identity confirming information and a secure upload of their signature. Without this option, these voters are forced to register through a paper form that can be burdensome for voters as well as inefficient and error-prone for election officials.

Voter registration APIs modernize the registration process even further, letting trusted and verified organizations and state agencies transmit registration data directly and securely to election officials, cutting out the paper forms from registration drives that burden voters and understaffed offices alike while also improving election security.

Serving Those Who Serve
More than 800,000 military and overseas citizens voted in 2024 under the federal Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, yet many still face state barriers to registering and requesting absentee ballots electronically, sometimes reapplying year after year. Extending electronic applications options to these voters is a bipartisan, commonsense reform available in many, but not all, states today.

None of This Works Without Investment
Every reform above depends on a foundation that’s easy to overlook: adequate, stable funding for the local offices that actually run elections. An average federal election year costs $4-6 billion nationally, with local governments covering the bulk of that expenditure. States that commit to consistent funding — rather than one-time infusions — give election officials room to plan, modernize, and respond to emergencies.

The Throughline

None of these policies are novel or partisan, but rather, they’re durable, administrative reforms that any state can pursue. What they share is a conviction that has guided the Institute for Responsive Government since its founding: States can simultaneously make elections accessible and secure.

The future of election administration will largely be written in state capitols. No matter your racial identity, whether you have a disability, your age, or where you live, every American citizen over 18 should be able to safely and securely cast a ballot. And states that strengthen access for eligible voters, modernize and secure registration, and invest in election infrastructure will be honoring the promise the VRA first made in 1965.

Learn more about the Institute for Responsive Government’s Making Participation Possible work at responsivegov.org/making-participation-possible.