National Voter Registration Day: Celebrate by Making Sure Voter Registrations and Rolls are Accurate!

This article originally appeared in Townhall on September 19, 2023.

Registering to vote is a special, sacred gift often paid for with blood, that should be revered. American men and women have fought and died on battlefields across the world to preserve and protect our constitutional republic’s freedom to vote. National Voter Registration Day is a vital reminder for us to highlight the proper perspectives on voter registration and celebrate accurate, transparent, and accountable voter registration and voter rolls.

Our Nation should emphasize many democratic principles on this important day. First, eligible Americans should take the initiative to exercise the opportunity provided them by registering to vote. Voluntary participation in registering and voting is important, but systems like Automatic Voter Registration (AVR) denigrate this right. AVR is in place in 23 states. In those states, the state government automatically registers a person to vote, regardless of whether or not that person wants to register, when they interact with a state government agency. The most common example is when you go to your local Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to get a driver’s license and you aren’t registered to vote at your new address. Even though you didn’t ask, and you may not want to, you are automatically registered to vote because of your interaction with the DMV. You didn’t make the choice; the state government made it for you.

Read the full op-ed in Townhall.