Statement of Administration Policy: S. 460 - National Voter Registration Act of 1993

(Senate)
(Ford (D) Kentucky)

The Administration strongly supports enactment of S. 460 as reported by the Committee on Rules and Administration, without amendment.

The Administration would strongly oppose any amendment that would:

— Make compliance with the bill's requirements voluntary. All eligible citizens deserve equal access to registration.

— Make implementation contingent on Federal reimbursement of any State compliance costs. Such costs would be minimal, and they could be offset by savings opportunities created by the bill. For example, States currently must employ additional workers to help process last-minute voting registrations before preelection deadlines. S. 460 would reduce these personnel costs by helping eligible citizens register throughout the year.

— Provide Federal authority for prosecuting election fraud without clearly defining the nature of the offense or requiring that such offenses be willful and knowing. An overbroad antifraud statute could deter legitimate activities of civic leaders to register eligible citizens. In addition, S. 460 already gives Federal prosecutors the right to prosecute in Federal court for State or local election fraud.

The Administration also disagrees with the argument that enactment of S. 460 would result in an increase in voter registration by aliens. On the contrary, the bill's safeguards against improper registration are stronger than those in current law.

Pay-As-You-Go Scoring

S. 460 would affect receipts; therefore, it is subject to the pay-as-you-go requirement of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990. OMB's preliminary scoring estimate of this bill is that it would increase receipts by less than $500,000 annually. Final scoring of this legislation may deviate from this estimate.