FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 14, 2019

Contact: Jeff Holmes | jholmes@skdknick.com | 860-575-6870

ADVOCACY AND GRASSROOTS ORGANIZATIONS APPLAUD

INTRODUCTION OF AUTOMATIC VOTER REGISTRATION LEGISLATION
BY DEPUTY MAJORITY LEADER GIANARIS
Senator Gianaris’ Legislation Includes a “Back-End” System Which Voting Experts
Consider More Accurate and Effective Than a “Front-End” System Which NY State
Assembly is Considering

AVR Now founder Sean McElwee: “Deputy Majority Leader Gianaris’ Automatic
Voter Registration bill is the most comprehensive in the country and would make New
York a national leader on AVR”

NEW YORK – AVR NOW, a new advocacy group dedicated to passing automatic voter
registration (AVR) in Albany, along with several advocate and grassroots organizations, applaud
the introduction of legislation by Senate Deputy Majority Leader Michael Gianaris intended to
implement AVR in New York State. As a part of its launch last month, AVR NOW -- led by Data
for Progress co-founder Sean McElwee and representing a broad range of partners -- released
interactive polling showing AVR enjoys support in all but two State Senate districts across New
York State and 64 percent support among likely voters.

Senator Gianaris’ legislation includes a “back-end” AVR system which automatically adds
eligible voters to the rolls without requiring a voter to take any further action at a target agency
(such as a Department of Motor Vehicles or Department of Health). This model, giving voters a
chance to opt out via mail afterwards, has been proven far more accurate and less prone to
human error in states where implemented while also registering a significantly greater
percentage of eligible voters.

A “back-end” AVR system is preferred by groups including AVR NOW, Common Cause of New
York, Make the Road New York, Indivisible, and the Working Families Party. Last week AVR
Now, along with several advocacy and grassroots organizations, sent a letter to Senate and
Assembly leadership advocating and detailing the superiority of a “back-end” system to a
“front-end” system.

“Deputy Majority Leader Gianaris’ Automatic Voter Registration bill is the most comprehensive
in the country and would make New York a national leader on AVR,” said founder Sean
McElwee. “Even the casual observer knows New York’s electoral system is broken and passing
this crucial piece of legislation gives us a real opportunity to ensure all New Yorkers have the
fundamental right to vote. I applaud him for his visionary progressive leadership and his close
work with grassroots voting rights organizations.”

New York routinely has some of the lowest voter turnout rates in the country, ranking a dismal
48th in turnout nationwide in 2018. During the 2016 election, upwards of 200,000 voters were
illegally purged from the voter rolls in Brooklyn due to errors at the New York City Board of
Elections. Deputy Majority Leader Michael Gianaris legislation, S1278, would mitigate these
challenges by increasing registration and ensuring accurate voter data.

“Having studied many states’ approaches to voter registration, I’m convinced that the approach
that Senator Gianaris is advancing is the right one for New York,” said Henry Berger, former
special counsel to Mayor Bill DeBlasio and longtime New York elections law expert. “It will
ensure our voter rolls are much more accurate and up-to-date while simplifying the process for
millions of New Yorkers and making the rolls more representative of our state.”

“If we’ve learned anything from the last two years it’s that every vote counts. In the face of the
Trump administration’s deliberate attempt to undermine confidence in our electoral system,
New York has an opportunity to protect and defend our most basic right. We stand ready to
turn our electoral victories into legislative progress and look forward to directing our
constituent power towards the passing of Automatic Voter Registration this session,” said
Empire State Indivisible.

Currently, 16 states, including Massachusetts and New Jersey, have implemented automatic
voter registration, which has been proved to boost turnout and deliver more accurate
registration data. Under Oregon’s AVR program, 94 percent of individuals who interacted with
the DMV and were eligible to vote were registered, with 44 percent of the new registrants
subsequently voting. That has allowed Oregon to have the largest turnout increases between
2012 and 2016 of any state and one of the highest turnout rates in the country in 2018.

Additionally, across the country, localities have saved an average of about $3.54 in costs per
registration by moving from a paper to an electronic method. One study in Arizona showed that
it costs $0.83 of staff time to enter a paper voting application into the system, compared to just
$0.04 with an electronic system.

More information can be found at https://avr-now.dataforprogress.org

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