Opinion: Enhanced Automatic Voter Registration is how New York can secure a better democracy for all

Democracy is under attack, and New Yorkers cannot count on the federal government to protect it. As a candidate and now as president, Donald Trump has continuously undermined the integrity of our elections and access to the ballot. Most recently, Trump’s Justice Department announced it would no longer prioritize enforcing voting rights laws, and Republican leadership is advancing legislation like the SAVE Act that will hinder many eligible voters from being able to cast their ballots.

Amid this backdrop, it’s clear that states must do everything in their power to make voting accessible. Currently, more than 2 million eligible New Yorkers – including 1.2 million in New York City alone – aren’t registered to vote. In a state that prides itself on democratic inclusion, that’s a crisis.

Despite years of reforms, our voter registration system still leaves too many behind, particularly young people, voting-eligible immigrant New Yorkers, low-income residents and people of color. Of these eligible, unregistered voters, 500,000 are Latino, 450,000 are Black, and 250,000 are Asian American. It’s time to fix that, and Enhanced Automatic Voter Registration must be part of the solution.

New York began this work in 2020 when the state adopted an Automatic Voter Registration system. Rather than requiring eligible citizens to proactively sign up, Automatic Voter Registration shifts the onus, allowing eligible citizens to register to vote when they interact with government agencies like the Department of Motor Vehicles or Medicaid. The law was a big step toward breaking down unnecessary barriers, but implementation has been slow and critical improvements are needed before it can go fully into effect.

That’s where Enhanced Automatic Voter Registration comes in. We have introduced legislation to upgrade the Automatic Voter Registration system to make it more secure, efficient and effective. It follows best practices from ten other states and Washington, D.C., where enhanced systems have successfully increased participation and protected voter integrity.

Here’s how it works: when someone interacts with a state agency like the DMV or applies for Medicaid, and their citizenship is verified, they’re automatically registered to vote – unless they opt out. If their eligibility isn’t clear, they may need to take an extra step to confirm it. These precautions avoid confusion or mistakes, especially for people facing language barriers, and ensure that only eligible voters are being enrolled. Enhanced Automatic Voter Registration also keeps voter rolls accurate by updating addresses through these agencies, so fewer people will show up on Election Day to find their info is wrong or missing.

This streamlined process is especially important for younger New Yorkers and communities of color, who are often the most under-registered and underrepresented in our elections. Many young people get their first state ID or apply for public services in their late teens or early twenties – Enhanced Automatic Voter Registration makes sure that moment also connects them to the ballot. And for Black, Latino and Asian American communities that face long-standing structural barriers to participation, automatic registration helps close the gap and ensure their voices are heard where it matters most.

The potential impact is huge, especially in places like New York City. In the 2021 mayoral primary, fewer than 1 million people voted. But what’s even more alarming is that over 1 million eligible New Yorkers weren’t even registered to vote in the first place. That’s not a full democracy — that’s a system where decisions about housing, education and safety are being made by a small, unrepresentative slice of the population.

Democracy works best when everyone who is eligible can participate, and with an unreliable federal partner to improve access to the ballot, New York must lead the way. Enhanced Automatic Voter Registration offers a smart, proven and secure way to move New York closer to that ideal. It’s not enough to simply encourage people to vote. We must build the systems that make voting truly accessible for all, and Enhanced Automatic Voter Registration does exactly that.