Comment from Anthony Estrada

Amongst the new information the proposed form will require is a statement informing the applicant that if the form is submitted by mail and the individual is registering for the first time, additional documentation must be submitted with the mail-in registration form. The referenced documentation, and relevant implementation provisions, are addressed at 42 U.S.C. 15483(b)(1)-(3). While it is helpful to include a resource by which prospective voters can discover this information, it places too much of a burden on those voters – many of whom lack access to the Internet and are unfamiliar with statutory research – to seek out this information themselves. The form should provide as much information as it possibly can, as accessibly as is practical. Otherwise, the EAC runs the risk of intimidating prospective voters who lack the familiarity with the law that many of us take for granted. This may include the poor, the uneducated and non-native speakers. Included amongst the relevant provisions are the exceptions to the documentation requirement. These may be of particular interest to the aforementioned groups, some of whom lack Driver’s Licenses, photo identifications, or even social security numbers. In a similar vein, the EAC proposes to include a notice in the form which will advise applicants to review their State-specific instructions for rules regarding eligibility to register prior to age 18. This speaks to young adults, with a high school education at best, encountering a voting form for the first time. It seems insufficient to merely advise them to review their State-specific instructions for voting. Instead, it may be helpful to include a website that can answer their basic questions and provide them with links to their particular State. For example, CanIVote.org is a particularly useful site. In addition, the young adults to whom this provision applies on the whole have a greater familiarity and comfort with obtaining information on the Internet.