U.S. Code » Title 52 » Subtitle Subtitle II— Voting Assistance and Election Administration › Chapter CHAPTER 205— NATIONAL VOTER REGISTRATION

52 U.S.C. § 20501

Findings and purposes

Read at: OLRCuscode.house.gov CornellLII GovInfogovinfo.gov JustiaTitle 52 CasesGoogle Scholar
(a) FindingsThe Congress finds that—(1) the right of citizens of the United States to vote is a fundamental right;(2) it is the duty of the Federal, State, and local governments to promote the exercise of that right; and(3) discriminatory and unfair registration laws and procedures can have a direct and damaging effect on voter participation in elections for Federal office and disproportionately harm voter participation by various groups, including racial minorities.(b) PurposesThe purposes of this chapter are—(1) to establish procedures that will increase the number of eligible citizens who register to vote in elections for Federal office;(2) to make it possible for Federal, State, and local governments to implement this chapter in a manner that enhances the participation of eligible citizens as voters in elections for Federal office;(3) to protect the integrity of the electoral process; and(4) to ensure that accurate and current voter registration rolls are maintained.(Pub. L. 103–31, § 2, May 20, 1993, 107 Stat. 77.)Editorial NotesReferences in Text

This chapter, referred to in subsec. (b), was in the original “this Act”, meaning Pub. L. 103–31, May 20, 1993, 107 Stat. 77, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Tables.

Codification

Section was formerly classified to section 1973gg of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare, prior to editorial reclassification and renumbering as this section.

Statutory Notes and Related SubsidiariesEffective Date

Pub. L. 103–31, § 13, May 20, 1993, 107 Stat. 89, provided that: “This Act [see Tables for classification] shall take effect—“(1) with respect to a State that on the date of enactment of this Act [May 20, 1993] has a provision in the constitution of the State that would preclude compliance with this Act unless the State maintained separate Federal and State official lists of eligible voters, on the later of—“(A)January 1, 1996; or“(B) the date that is 120 days after the date by which, under the constitution of the State as in effect on the date of enactment of this Act, it would be legally possible to adopt and place into effect any amendments to the constitution of the State that are necessary to permit such compliance with this Act without requiring a special election; and“(2) with respect to any State not described in paragraph (1), on January 1, 1995.”

Proof of Citizenship

Pub. L. 104–132, title IX, § 902, Apr. 24, 1996, 110 Stat. 1317, provided that: “Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a Federal, State, or local government agency may not use a voter registration card (or other related document) that evidences registration for an election for Federal office, as evidence to prove United States citizenship.”

Similar provisions were contained in section 117 of H.R. 2076, One Hundred Fourth Congress, as passed by the House of Representatives on Dec. 6, 1995, and as enacted into law by Pub. L. 104–91, title I, § 101(a), Jan. 6, 1996, 110 Stat. 11, as amended by Pub. L. 104–99, title II, § 211, Jan. 26, 1996, 110 Stat. 37.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 101 cases (54 in the last 5 years), 2014–2026 · leading case: Proj. Vote, Inc. v. Kemp, 208 F. Supp. 3d 1320 (N.D. Ga. 2016).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Proj. Vote, Inc. v. Kemp, 208 F. Supp. 3d 1320 (N.D. Ga. 2016). · cites it 8× “Summary Plaintiff seeks the disclosure, pursuant to the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (“NVRA”), 52 U.S.C. § 20501 , et seq., of certain records relating to the reasons *1324 Defendant rejected, canceled, or otherwise did not add voter registration applicants to…”
League of Women Voters v. Brian Newby, 838 F.3d 1 (D.C. Cir. 2016). · cites it 2× “77 (codified as amended at 52 U.S.C. §§ 20501 et seq.); see also ITCA, 133 S.”
A. Philip Randolph Inst. v. Jon Husted, 838 F.3d 699 (6th Cir. 2016). · cites it 6× “the Homeless (“NEOCH”), and Larry Harmon (collectively “Plaintiffs”) filed suit seeking to enjoin the defendant, Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted (“the Secretary”), from removing the names of registered voters from Ohio’s voter rolls pursuant to the state’s so-called…”
Husted v. A. Philip Randolph Inst., 138 S. Ct. 1833 (2018). · cites it 4× “Argued January 10, 2018—Decided June 11, 2018 The National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) addresses the removal of ineligible voters from state voting rolls, 52 U. S. C. §20501 (b), includ- ing those who are ineligible “by reason of” a change in residence, §20507(a)(4).”
Am. Civil Rights Union v. Brenda Snipes, 935 F.3d 1192 (11th Cir. 2019). · cites it 4× “The letter claimed that Broward County was "in apparent violation" of Section 8 of the NVRA, which requires the states regularly to conduct maintenance on its voter registration lists, removing certain ineligible voters. ACRU explained that it had compared registration totals to…”
Action NC v. Strach, 216 F. Supp. 3d 597 (M.D.N.C. 2016). · cites it 3× “” 52 U.S.C. § 20501 (b)(1); Project Vote/Voting for Am.”
Fish v. Kobach, 189 F. Supp. 3d 1107 (D. Kan. 2016). · cites it 3× “Plaintiffs motion to enjoin enforcement of K.A.R. § 7-23-15 is denied.”
United States v. Louisiana, 196 F. Supp. 3d 612 (M.D. La. 2016). · cites it 6× “” 52 U.S.C. § 20501 (a)(l)-(3); see also, e.”
Colon-Marrero v. Garcia-Velez, 813 F.3d 1 (1st Cir. 2016). · cites it 2× “See 52 U.S.C. § 20501 (b) (stating that the purposes of NVRA include “establish[ing] procedures that will increase the number of eligible citizens who register to vote in elections for Federal office” and “ensuring] that accurate and current voter registration rolls are…”
Luther Scott, Jr. v. Tom Schedler, 826 F.3d 207 (5th Cir. 2016). · cites it 2× “Tom Schedler, in his capacity as the Louisiana Secretary of State, appeals the imposition of an amended permanent injunction that requires him to “maintain in force” his “policies, procedures, and directives” related to the coordination and enforcement of the National Voter…”
Am. Civil Rights Union v. Philadelphia City Commissioners, 872 F.3d 175 (3rd Cir. 2017). · cites it 4× “52 U.S.C. § 20501 . 12 . S. Rep. No. 103-6, at 18 (1993).”
Pub. Interest Legal Found. v. Boockvar, 370 F. Supp. 3d 449 (M.D. Penn. 2019). · cites it 4× “The Foundation asserts a claim for violation of the National Voting Registration Act of 1993 ("the NVRA" or "the Act"), 52 U.S.C. § 20501 et seq. Defendants move to dismiss the Foundation's complaint pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6).”
Show all 101 citing cases →
— 52 U.S.C. § 20501(b)(1) — 2 cases
Am. Civil Rights Union v. Brenda Snipes, 935 F.3d 1192 (11th Cir. 2019). “The letter claimed that Broward County was "in apparent violation" of Section 8 of the NVRA, which requires the states regularly to conduct maintenance on its voter registration lists, removing certain ineligible voters. ACRU explained that it had compared registration totals to…”
Pub. Interest Legal Found. v. Winfrey (E.D. Mich. 2020).
— 52 U.S.C. § 20501(b)(3) — 1 case
Jud. Watch, Inc. v. The Illinois State Bd. of Elections (N.D. Ill. 2025).
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.