Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski signed HB 2910, sponsored by Rep. Peter Buckley, which will allow 17-year-olds to advance-register to vote in order to encourage more civic engagement among the next generation of voters. The mandate expands a previous measure that allowed 17-year-olds who would turn 18 by an election date to register to vote [...]

Chances are you never even heard about it, but the Rhode Island state legislature overwhelmingly passed a bill sponsored by Rep. Edwin R. Pacheco that allows 16 and 17-year-olds to pre-register to vote, making them automatically eligible once they turn 18. The bill was passed without fanfare at the last minute before the legislative session [...]

Exciting news for voter registration reform! Florida’s Governor Charlie Crist recently signed a measure to rework voter registration policy, dropping the voter registration age from 17 to 16 years old (when applying for a driver’s license). New drivers can now automatically opt in to receive a voter registration card on their 18th birthday. It’s another [...]

Patrick Michels of The Texas Observer has a great blog post on Texas Governor Rick Perry’s veto of legislation that would have mandated that the Texas Department of Criminal Justice inform individuals who have been released from prison that their voting rights have been restored. This common sense legislation (passed with over 80 percent support [...]