The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA), popularly known as The Motor Voter Act, is a legislation that required state governments to allow registration when a qualifying voter applied for or renewed their drivers license or applied for social services. This legislation forced state governments to make the voter registration process easier by providing uniform registration services through drivers' license registration centers, disability centers, schools, libraries, and mail-in registration.
The NVRA allows the Department of Justice to bring civil actions in federal court to enforce its requirements. The Act also gives the responsibility to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to provide States with guidance on the Act, to develop a national mail voter registration form, and to compile reports on the effectiveness of the Act.
In addition to the methods of voter registration offered by the States, the Act requires states to provide the opportunity to apply to register to vote for federal elections by three means:
Further, the Act also creates requirements as to how States should maintain voter registration lists for federal elections.[ Section 8]
The Act applies to 44 states and the District of Columbia. Those states which did not have voter registration requirements or had election-day registration at polling places were exempted from the purview of the Act.