A voter registration campaign or voter registration drive is an effort by a government authority, political party or other entity to register to vote persons otherwise entitled to vote. In some countries, voter registration is automatic, and is carried out by the government, so there is no need for organized efforts to register voters. In many many jurisdictions, the functions of electoral authorities includes endeavours to get as many people to register to vote as possible. In most jurisdictions, registration is a prerequisite to a person being able to vote at an election.
A 2014 study indicated that voter registration drives increase the number of voters, however, changes to the socioeconomic composition of the effective voter base may be limited: while relatively poor areas had higher rates of registration, this was countered by a higher turnout among the newly registered voters in affluent areas.[1]
- ^ David W. Nickerson, "Do Voter Registration Drives Increase Participation? For Whom and When?", The Journal of Politics 77, no. 1 (January 2015): 88-101.