Automatic Voter Registration: A Solution to America's Turnout Problem or a Way to Make Registration More Convenient?

Automatic voter registration (AVR) is the newest election reform to capture the United States’ interest, having been adopted by 22 states as of early 2023. It is lauded by supporters for moving the onus of voter registration from the individual to the government. Here, advocates argue that the policy could serve as a solution to America’s voter turnout problem. After exploring the history of voter registration in the United States, as well as its corresponding research, I present a methodology for analyzing the impact of AVR on voter registration rates, voter turnout rates amongst eligible citizens, and voter turnout rates amongst those who are registered to vote. Using Difference in Differences models, I find that only registration rates increase in a statistically significant manner post implementation of the policy. When testing for variations in the forms of AVR implementation, the front-end version, where an individual can decline registration at the point of interaction with a government agency, produces just over a one percentage point increase in voter turnout. This indicates that while the back-end version, where an individual is informed post-interaction that they may decline registration, may be the most “automatic” of automatic voter registration types, front-end better informs the citizens it registers of their status and might alter behavior.Plan II Honors Progra