S.B. 170, An Act Requiring Housing Authorities to Provide Voter Registration Applications to Prospective Tenants

Because the right to vote is a fundamental part of America’s democracy, registering to vote should be a simple task. When people interact with housing authorities to seek other services and assistance, it is intuitive to provide voter registration applications in these locations. Some of the people visiting these authorities may not have another readily accessible opportunity to register to vote. Providing easy opportunity for registration could increase both the number of registered voters in Connecticut and voter participation in elections, especially among a group of people—those living in subsidized housing—who are less likely to be registered to begin with.

Though we support Senate Bill 170, the ACLU-CT stresses to this Committee that automatic voter registration is an even simpler, more accessible policy solution. Automatic voter registration ensures that every resident who is qualified to register to vote is registered unless they opt out. We encourage members of this Committee and the General Assembly to support efforts to make voter registration automatic. But for now, Senate Bill 170 is a good step towards increasing voter participation in an under-registered population and we urge this Committee to support it.