How the Freedom to Vote Act Could Have Changed the 2024 Election

In January 2022, I watched from the U.S. Senate floor as the Freedom to Vote Act (FTVA) was defeated by a filibuster after the majority of senators voted to pass the legislation. It was a surreal culmination of years of tireless work for my colleagues, myself and many representatives and advocates. 

We worked so tirelessly, in fact, that two years later the right side of my couch still holds a lopsided indent due to all the early mornings, late nights and weekends I sat there working on the bill. But when you’re so close to the finish line on something you believe in — something that could make a difference in the lives of millions of Americans and strengthen the foundations of the longest-standing democracy in the world — it’s worth it. My couch cushions serve as a daily reminder of this fact.

Recently, I published a report at the Center for American Progress exploring how much more fair, accessible and secure the 2024 election cycle would look if the FTVA had been passed and some of its key voter registration and voting policies — including automatic voter registration, same-day voter registration and mail-in voting — were in place this year. Specifically, my report analyzes how many more Americans would likely register to vote and cast a ballot in this year’s general election if the FTVA had been passed in 2022.

I concluded that nearly 8 million more American citizens would likely have registered to vote ahead of the 2024 general election and approximately 3.8 million more voters would likely have cast a ballot this election — a number greater than the population of 22 states and greater than the number of registered voters in 37 states. 

My research found that these dramatic increases in voter participation and representation would most likely be accomplished by implementing automatic voter registration in the 25 states that still do not offer it. In many states, particularly battleground states, my projections of how many additional votes likely would have been cast in the 2024 general election with the FTVA’s policies in place far surpassed the margin of victory in recent  presidential and U.S. Senate elections. 

For example, automatic registration would likely mean an additional 800,000 voters would cast a ballot in Texas and separately in Florida, 100,000 more voters in Arizona and 40,000 more in Wisconsin. By comparison, the 2020 presidential election was decided by approximately 630,000 voters in Texas, 370,000 voters in Florida, 10,500 in Arizona and 20,600 in Wisconsin. 

How Nationwide Automatic Voter Registration Would Impact Votes Cast in 2024

In addition to the sheer increases in voter registration and voter turnout numbers related to automatic registration, the FTVA’s voter registration methods are also important for reaching historically under-registered communities and communities with lower turnout. It’s not enough for states to have high voter registration and turnout rates; they must strive to achieve equality in registration and turnout rates across racial/ethnic demographics, socio-economic statuses and age groups. 

My projections found that automatic voter registration had a significant impact on closing the voter registration gap between Black voters and white voters. On average, I found that Black voter registration increased at a rate 3.4% higher than white voter registration in the two years following the implementation of automatic voter registration. In states with some of the largest populations of Black Americans in the country — Alabama, Louisiana and South Carolina— the implementation of automatic voter registration would likely lead to tens of thousands more Black citizens casting ballots.

For same-day voter registration, my analysis found the strongest correlation with Hispanic voter turnout. A number of studies and research projects have analyzed the impacts of same-day registration on voter turnout among Hispanic, Black and young citizens. These demographics tend to be more transient and stand to benefit the most from being able to easily register to vote in a new state or county, or update their registration information. 

I found that across the last three election cycles, on average, states with same-day registration had a 6.6% higher Hispanic voter turnout rate than states without it. Based solely on the difference in the past presidential election, I predicted that approximately 1.1 million more Hispanic Americans would likely turn out to vote if they had access to same-day registration. 

Passing the FTVA isn’t about wresting power away from a political party; it’s about equitably empowering Americans to determine the future of our nation.

Academic researchers have also found that same-day registration increases turnout among young voters — those between the ages of 18 and 24 — by as much as 7.3%. I found that a voter increase of that magnitude across the 27 states that still don’t offer same-day registration would likely have meant as many as 1.1 million more young Americans voting in the 2024 general election.

The FTVA would also ensure that more than 27 million citizens of voting age, including 17.5 million Americans who are already registered, have access to online voter registration in the seven states that still don’t offer it. By contrast, online federal tax filing first became available 38 years ago. 

I calculated that these seven states have processed approximately 7 million paper voter registration applications over the last three federal election cycles — costing them approximately $25 million plus tens of thousands of staff hours. While robust election funding is imperative, these resources could have been better spent elsewhere by implementing online registration, a more cost and time-efficient practice that benefits election administrators and voters alike.

Finally, I analyzed the projected impacts of additional voting methods — specifically mail-in voting and early in-person voting — and found that voter turnout likely would have increased by 3.8 million voters if these methods were available across the country. 

My report also revealed that 4.9 million voters who recently participated in elections would likely have chosen to cast a ballot by mail instead of in person, while 1.7 million would likely have voted early in person instead of on Election Day. Additionally, under the FTVA, at least 950 more ballot drop boxes would be available across the country to ensure Americans can easily, securely and efficiently return ballots — that may seem like many, but for the 2022 election cycle, Michigan provided 1,200 ballot drop boxes and Virginia 3,000.

It’s easy to say that the FTVA would transform our democracy, but it’s harder to visualize just how impactful this legislation would be. That’s where I hope my report will be of great benefit. My findings are also broken down by state so that Americans can see how representation and democracy in their share of the country would be improved by the FTVA. 

Every American has the right to make their voice heard by voting. The ease and security with which they cast their ballot should not depend on the community or state they call home. Passing the FTVA isn’t about wresting power away from a political party; it’s about equitably empowering Americans to determine the future of our nation. 

All representatives should be united in working to ensure the right to vote for every single one of their constituents is upheld and protected. As Americans’ trust in government and their faith in democracy are hitting historic lows, it’s clear we need transformative change to correct the course. The FTVA can bring about that change and ensure our democracy is stronger, more accessible and more representative for future generations of Americans.

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Greta Bedekovics is the associate director of democracy at the Center for American Progress and a former policy advisor for U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) on the Senate Rules Committee.