Statement by the President Upon Signing Order Establishing the Commission on Registration and Voting Participation.

RESPONSIBLE Americans are increasingly concerned with the widespread failure of our citizens to exercise their right to vote and restrictions which prevent many Americans from voting. I have recommended legislation to protect voting rights against discrimination on the basis of race and color in my Message to Congress on Civil Rights of last month. However, the problems are by no means limited to this type of discrimination.

It has been estimated that some 8 million Americans were unable to vote in the election of 1960 because they were unable to comply with State and local residence requirements, which penalize the Nation's mobile population. Additional millions of Americans are precluded from exercising their franchise because of limitations on absentee registration and voting--a problem especially important in the case of military and civil service personnel whose work require them to be located outside of the State in which they vote. Other Americans are prevented from voting by registration procedures which make voting unnecessarily difficult.

I have, therefore, today established the President's Commission on Registration and Voting Participation to study the reasons for the failure of many citizens to register and vote in elections for Members of Congress, the President and Vice President, including laws which restrict registration and voting on the basis of residence, economic status, registration procedures, absentee voting provisions and other reasons for nonvoting.