Committee advances Secure Automatic Voter Registration bill with amendments

The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee on Feb. 3 amended and favorably released Senate Bill 16-36, first reprint, which would upgrade New Jersey's partial automatic voter registration (AVR) to a Secure Automatic Voter Registration (Secure AVR) system for certain transactions.

Under the amendments adopted in committee, the bill removes an external citizenship-verification requirement for registrations made via New Jersey's Medical Assistance and Health Services Program, allows certain incarcerated individuals applying for a non-driver identification card to register to vote if they provide a post-release address, and narrows the types of motor vehicle transactions that will transmit voter registration information to the secretary of state to Real ID and identification cards. The amendments also require the Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) to include citizenship information it possesses when transmitting data, and add confidentiality protections and other technical adjustments to the automatic-transmission process.

Advocates testified in support. Neil Ibrahim, policy and research director at the Institute for Responsive Government, told the committee that Secure AVR is a best practice used in 10 states and that Secure AVR can increase registrations and update records while filtering out noncitizens. He said other states have implemented Secure AVR at modest cost — citing implementation estimates (Colorado $285,000, Minnesota $290,000, Delaware $22,000) — and that Secure AVR helped reduce undeliverable mail and streamline election administration. Nudrat Choudhury of the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice supported the bill for its potential to reduce registration gaps among communities of color and to expand registration opportunities through the Department of Corrections and Medicaid-related interactions.

Committee members questioned operational details, including which agencies and transactions would be included and safeguards for non-citizens. Witnesses said Medicaid enrollment is verified against the Federal Data Services Hub and that corrections-related interactions would mirror MVC procedures already used for DMV transactions. After questions and discussion, the committee moved and approved the amendment and favorably released the bill by roll call.

Senators voting in favor included Chair Sarlo, Vice Chair Greenstein, Senator Ruiz, Senator Cruz-Perez, Senator Deignan, Senator Johnson, Senator Zwicker, Senator Burgess and others; several senators recorded no votes or absences on other items earlier in the hearing. The committee's action sends SB 16-36, as amended, out of committee for further legislative consideration.