Voter registration is the requirement in some democracies for citizens to check in with some central registry before being allowed to vote in elections. An effort to get people to register is known as a voter registration drive.
Centralized vs. opt-in
In some countries, registration is the responsibility of the government, either local or national. In many others, however, citizens must "opt in" to voting, generally by filling out a specific form registering them to vote. Governments registering people has been shown to be one of the most powerful predictors of high voting turnout levels.
Even in countries where registration is the individual's responsibility, many reformers, seeking to maximize voter turnout, have pushed for wider availability of the required forms; one such effort in the United States led to the passage of the Motor Voter laws, which required states to offer to register people when the people came in for a driver's licence.
Effects and controversy
Laws requiring individual voters to register, as opposed to having the government register people automatically, have a strong correlation with lower numbers of people turning out to vote. This lower turnout is especially concentrated among low-income voters and young voters — i.e., those least likely to vote no matter what the registration requirements. Because of this, they are often controversial; some, especially on the left wing, advocate for their abolition (thus allowing all residents of a given area to vote, including non-citizens). Other groups, while not agreeing with this specific suggestion, argue that the laws should be reformed; for instance, allowing voters to register on the day of the election. This tactic, called same-day registration, has been adopted by several U.S. states: Minnesota, Maine, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, Wyoming, and Idaho. In these states, one type of voter intimidation is to inform people falsely that registration is closed.
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