Automatic Voter Registration Act
Latest action · Apr 1, 2021 Referred to the House Committee on House Administration.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedApr 1, 2021
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Automatic Voter Registration Act
This bill provides for automatic voter registration of individuals through state motor vehicle authorities.
Specifically, the bill requires each state motor vehicle authority, upon receiving specified identifying information regarding an individual who requests services from the authority, to transmit the identifying information to the appropriate state election official. The state election official must then notify the individual that the individual shall be automatically registered to vote in federal elections unless the individual declines to be registered to vote, does not meet voter registration eligibility requirements, or is already registered to vote. The bill provides an individual with a 21-calendar day period to opt out of automatic voter registration.
A state may only use identifying information regarding an individual's citizenship status for determining whether the individual is eligible to vote in federal elections.
Cosponsors 109
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Apr 1, 2021 to Dec 21, 2022; 108 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-CA | Adam B. Schiff | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-WA | Adam Smith | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-NY | Adriano Espaillat | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-CA | Alan S. Lowenthal | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-NJ | Albio Sires | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-FL | Alcee L. Hastings | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-NY | Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-NJ | Andy Kim | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-MI | Andy Levin | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-CA | Anna G. Eshoo | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-MA | Ayanna Pressley | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-CA | Barbara Lee | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-MN | Betty McCollum | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-IL | Bobby L. Rush | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-NJ | Bonnie Watson Coleman | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-IL | Bradley Scott Schneider | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-MI | Brenda L. Lawrence | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-PA | Brendan F. Boyle | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-NY | Brian Higgins | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-NY | Carolyn B. Maloney | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-PA | Chrissy Houlahan | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-IL | Danny K. Davis | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-FL | Darren Soto | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-NC | David E. Price | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-MD | David J. Trone | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-FL | Debbie Wasserman Schultz | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-WA | Derek Kilmer | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-CO | Diana DeGette | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-NV | Dina Titus | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-NJ | Donald M. Payne, Jr. | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-CA | Doris O. Matsui | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-PA | Dwight Evans | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-OR | Earl Blumenauer | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-DC | Eleanor Holmes Norton | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-CA | Eric Swalwell | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-NJ | Frank Pallone, Jr. | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-FL | Frederica S. Wilson | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-VA | Gerald E. Connolly | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-CA | Grace F. Napolitano | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-NY | Grace Meng | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-AZ | Greg Stanton | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-NY | Gregory W. Meeks | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-WI | Gwen Moore | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-GA | Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-CA | Jackie Speier | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-CT | Jahana Hayes | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-MA | Jake Auchincloss | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-NY | Jamaal Bowman | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-CT | James A. Himes | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-MA | James P. McGovern | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-RI | James R. Langevin | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-MD | Jamie Raskin | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-IL | Janice D. Schakowsky | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-CA | Jared Huffman | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-CO | Jason Crow | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-NY | Jerrold Nadler | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-IL | Jesús G. "Chuy" García | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-TN | Jim Cooper | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-CA | Jimmy Gomez | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-CA | Jimmy Panetta | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-CT | Joe Courtney | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-CO | Joe Neguse | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-KY | John A. Yarmuth | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-CA | John Garamendi | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-MD | John P. Sarbanes | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-OH | Joyce Beatty | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-CA | Julia Brownley | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-NY | Kathleen M. Rice | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-FL | Kathy Castor | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-FL | Lois Frankel | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-MA | Lori Trahan | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-CA | Lucille Roybal-Allard | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-OH | Marcy Kaptur | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-CA | Mark DeSaulnier | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-WI | Mark Pocan | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-CA | Mark Takano | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-PA | Mary Gay Scanlon | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-PA | Matt Cartwright | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-PA | Michael F. Doyle | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-GU | Michael F. Q. San Nicolas | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-CA | Mike Thompson | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-NY | Paul Tonko | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-OR | Peter A. DeFazio | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-VT | Peter Welch | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-WA | Pramila Jayapal | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-IL | Raja Krishnamoorthi | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-MI | Rashida Tlaib | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-NY | Ritchie Torres | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-CA | Ro Khanna | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-VA | Robert C. "Bobby" Scott | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-WI | Ron Kind | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-CA | Salud O. Carbajal | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-CA | Scott H. Peters | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-IL | Sean Casten | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-MA | Seth Moulton | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-TX | Sheila Jackson Lee | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-TN | Steve Cohen | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-WA | Suzan K. DelBene | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-OR | Suzanne Bonamici | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-TX | Sylvia R. Garcia | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-AL | Terri A. Sewell | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-FL | Theodore E. Deutch | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-NY | Thomas R. Suozzi | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-OH | Tim Ryan | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-NJ | Tom Malinowski | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-FL | Val Butler Demings | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-TX | Veronica Escobar | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-NY | Yvette D. Clarke | Original | Apr 1, 2021 |
| D-GA | Nikema Williams | Dec 21, 2022 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Committee on House Administration | Referred Apr 1, 2021 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Apr 1, 2021Introduced in House
- Apr 1, 2021Referred to the House Committee on House Administration.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 167, no. 59, April 1, 2021, page H1707.
CRS reports 2
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 2
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| R46406 | Voter Registration: Recent Developments and Issues for Congress | Report | Oct 30, 2026 |
| R45030 | Federal Role in Voter Registration: The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA) and Subsequent Developments | Report | Oct 29, 2026 |
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 645 | Automatic Voter Registration Act | Reintroduction of | Jan 17, 2019 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to require each State to ensure that each individual who provides identifying information to the State motor vehicle authority is automatically registered to vote in elections for Federal office held in the State unless the individual does not meet the eligibility requirements for registering to vote in such elections or declines to be registered to vote in such elections, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Automatic Voter Registration Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Government Operations and Politics.
- Citizenship and naturalization
- Elections, voting, political campaign regulation
- Government information and archives
- Government Operations and Politics
- Immigration status and procedures
- Licensing and registrations
- Motor vehicles
- Northern Mariana Islands
- Puerto Rico
- Samoa
- State and local government operations
- Virgin Islands
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Apr 1, 2021Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
