Voter registration better linked to DMV services TRENTON - Voter registration opportunities for New Jersey residents will expand as the state moves to fully implement a federal law. The federal "motor voter" law requires the state Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) to link voter registration with motor vehicle transactions. The state's Department of the Public Advocate began examining New Jersey's compliance with the law in late 2006 after receiving complaints from voting rights advocates, according to a press release from the Department of the Public Advocate. T he public advocate verified gaps in New Jersey's motor voter implementation by working with the MVC to review its practices and analyzing federal voter registration studies. In February 2007, the public advocate sent personnel to 11 MVC agencies throughout New Jersey to survey customers whose just-completed transactions should have triggered motor voter activities. State personnel discovered only 8 percent of the 494 individuals surveyed were offered the opportunity to register to vote. According to the Department of the Public Advocate, the survey's findings mirrored those of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC), which has consistently ranked New Jersey close to last compared to other states in the percentage of registrations conducted at motor vehicle agencies. On average, motor vehicle offices accounted for half of all new voter registrations nationwide in 2005 and 2006. However, in New Jersey, the MVC accounted for 92,890 of the 808,794 total new voter registration applications submitted in the state, which amounts to about 11 percent, according to the Department of the Public Advocate. "To their credit, when presented with these findings, our partners at MVC and the Department of Law and Public Safety (LPS) were eager to develop a solution that would expand voter registration opportunities for New Jersey citizens," Public Advocate Ronald K. Chen said in the press release. "There are about one million New Jersey residents who are eligible to vote but are not registered." Chen's office will work with Attorney General Anne M. Milgram's office to achieve much higher registration rates at MVC and have set a goal to exceed the national average. Officials from the MVC and the (LPS) Division of Elections have also pledged to take specific affirmative actions to comply with the motor voter provisions of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA). The NVRA was passed by Congress in 1993 and requires motor vehicle agencies to offer citizens an expedited and easy opportunity to register to vote when they obtain or renew a driver's license or non-driver identification card. Likewise, address changes submitted to motor vehicle agencies are supposed to trigger automatic updates to the voter rolls. "With motor voter law compliance greatly improved, citizens should find it easier to participate in the democratic process," Chen said. "I commend our partners at the MVC and the Department of Law and Public Safety for making this important issue a priority." Milgram said in the press release that voter registration ease is critical to full and fair participation in elections. "Improving MVC's operations in the voter registration area was a priority for my office and the Division of Elections and we are confident that the interagency collaboration that led to this agreement will benefit all New Jersey citizens," she said. New Jersey Secretary of State Nina Mitchell Wells, whose department will assume oversight of the Division of Elections on April 1, 2008, said in the press release, "I am committed to working with the public advocate and the Motor Vehicle Commission to streamline this registration process and ensure public confidence in the reliability and integrity of election procedures." To increase voter registration, MVC agents will hand "short form" voter registration applications to all customers, collect and forward completed forms from those who choose to register, post signs informing the public about their right to register at MVC agencies and train MVC employees about these obligations. In addition, the MVC and the Division of Elections will make sure that address changes made at the MVC are transferred to appropriate election databases and will reach out to former MVC customers who are not registered to vote to offer them a chance to register. To ensure compliance with the commitment, the MVC will conduct random compliance inspections at MVC offices and will post compliance rates on its Web site. For more information on DPA voting rights activities, visit www.state.nj.us/publicadvocate.