National Voter Registration Act of 1993

National Voter Registration Act of 1993
Great Seal of the United States
Long titleAn Act to establish national voter registration procedures for Federal elections, and for other purposes.
Acronyms (colloquial)NVRA
NicknamesNational Voter Registration Act, Motor Voter
Enacted bythe 103rd United States Congress
EffectiveJanuary 1, 1995
Citations
Public law103-31
Statutes at Large107 Stat. 77
Codification
Titles amendedTitle 52—Voting and Elections[a]
U.S.C. sections created52 U.S.C. §§ 2050120511[b]
Legislative history
  • Introduced in the House as H.R. 2 by Al Swift (DWA) on January 5, 1993
  • Committee consideration by House Administration
  • Passed the House on February 4, 1993 (259–160)
  • Passed the Senate on March 17, 1993 (62–37)
  • Reported by the joint conference committee on April 28, 1993; agreed to by the House on May 5, 1993 (259–164) and by the Senate on May 11, 1993 (62–36)
  • Signed into law by President Bill Clinton on May 20, 1993
United States Supreme Court cases
President Bill Clinton signing the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 into law


The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA), also known as the Motor Voter Act, is a United States federal law signed into law by President Bill Clinton on May 20, 1993, that came into effect on January 1, 1995.[1] The law was enacted under the Elections Clause of the United States Constitution and advances voting rights in the United States by requiring state governments to offer simplified voter registration processes for any eligible person who applies for or renews a driver's license or applies for public assistance, and requiring the United States Postal Service to mail election materials of a state as if the state is a nonprofit.[2] The law requires states to register applicants that use a federal voter registration form, and prohibits states from removing registered voters from the voter rolls unless certain criteria are met.

The act exempts from its requirements states that have continuously since August 1, 1994 not required voter registration for federal elections or offered election day registration (EDR) for federal general elections.[3] Six states qualify for the exemption: North Dakota, which does not require registration, and Idaho, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Wisconsin and Wyoming because of the EDR exemption.[4]: 444  While some have recently asserted that Maine lost the exemption when it abolished EDR in 2011 (which it subsequently restored), Maine has never considered itself exempt from the act. [5] [6] [7] 


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  1. ^ "The National Voter Registration Act Of 1993 (NVRA)". www.justice.gov. 2015-08-06. Retrieved 2023-05-05.
  2. ^ "2-2.3 Voting Registration Officials | Postal Explorer". pe.usps.com.
  3. ^ 52 U.S. Code § 20503 (b)
  4. ^ Shordt, Richard F. (February 2010). "Not Registered to Vote? Sign This, Mail It, and Go Hire a Lawyer" (PDF). George Washington Law Review (78). Archived from the original (PDF) on June 14, 2010. Retrieved June 2, 2014.
  5. ^ "Federal Role in Voter Registration: The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA) and Subsequent Developments". crsreports.congress.gov. 2024-04-29. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
  6. ^ "Implementing the NVRA of 1993 Requirements Issues Approaches and Examples" (PDF). www.eac.gov. 1994-01-01. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
  7. ^ "Maine Same-Day Registration Veto Referendum, Question 1 (2011)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2023-05-05.