Ruling Means Full Implementation of Simultaneous Voter Registration
Today, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and Texas Democratic Party announced a major victory in their litigation to ensure Texas takes all remaining steps to comply with the National Voter Registration Act.
This ruling, fully implementing simultaneous voter registration, means any online driver’s license renewal or change-of-address will automatically result in the user being registered to vote at their current address. Today’s victory follows Democrats’ previous victory that forced Texas to immediately register three voters based on their online drivers’ license renewals with the Texas Department of Public Safety.
“This ruling is a victory over Republican efforts to disenfranchise millions of Texas voters. The court was right to undo hurdles Texas Republicans put in place to block people from being heard in our democracy,” DCCC Chairwoman Cheri Bustos said. “Elected leaders have an obligation to do everything we can to help Americans exercise their right to vote in the midst of these twin economic and public health crises. This ruling is an important step toward ensuring all eligible Texans can make their voices heard in this year’s election.”
“We’ve made it a priority to remove unnecessary burdens that make it harder for people to vote, and the victory today shows how important this work is for our democracy,” said DSCC Chair Catherine Cortez Masto. “The ruling streamlines the voter registration process for Texans, making it easier for them to participate in this election and elections going forward.”
“Today’s ruling is a victory for Texans everywhere, said Texas Democratic Party Executive Director Manny Garcia. “The Texas Democratic Party refused to stand by as Republican leaders continued to disenfranchise voters. That’s why the Texas Democratic Party, DSCC, and DCCC filed this lawsuit forcing the Texas DPS to comply with the National Voter Registration Act — and won. We thank the Texas Civil Rights Project for originally bringing this lawsuit to court. Our state is better off when more Texans participate in our democracy. We are one step closer to having a system that protects every Texan’s right to vote.”
This victory is the result of the DCCC and DSCC making a combined investment in voting rights litigation of over $10 million throughout the 2020 election cycle.