Sen. Klobuchar Introduces Same-Day Registration, Anti-Voter Purge Bills
WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Tuesday, Sept. 20 and National Voter Registration Day, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) introduced two pieces of legislation to make it easier for Americans to register to vote and stay on the voter rolls. Both bills were previously subsections of S. 2747, the Freedom to Vote Act, which failed to overcome a Republican filibuster in January.
The Same Day Voter Registration Act would require states to offer same-day registration during early voting and on Election Day by the 2026 general election. Twenty other Senate Democrats are co-sponsoring the bill.
The Stop Automatically Voiding Eligible Voters Off Their Enlisted Rolls in States (SAVE VOTERS) Act would mitigate the effects of improper voter purges. Specifically, the bill would amend the National Voter Registration Act to prohibit states from removing voters from the voter rolls unless there is “objective and reliable evidence that a person is ineligible to vote,” adding that failing to vote in an election or respond to mail is not included in that definition. The SAVE VOTERS Act would also permit officials to remove voters who have died or permanently moved out of state and outline a public notice procedure for states after they conduct a general list maintenance program. This legislation comes on the heels of Republican-controlled legislatures approving new laws that make it easier to kick voters off of the rolls, opening up the possibility of improper purges. The SAVE VOTERS Act has 16 other Democratic co-sponsors in the Senate.