Voter registration plunges for both parties in US as coronavirus hinders sign-up drives

New voter sign-ups are flatlining for both Democrats and Republicans across the United States as coronavirus restrictions paralyze registration drives.

A Center for Election Innovation & Research report found registrations across 11 states fell 70% in April 2020 from April 2016 figures, USA Today reported.

Voter advocacy groups say registrations, volunteer activity and donations to Democratic groups have surged during protests over the in-custody death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on Memorial Day, CNBC reported.

“While we don’t necessarily have evidence right now until we dig into the motivations of registering at this moment, I think the urgency raised awareness that people believe change needs to happen,” said Carolyn DeWitt, CEO of Rock the Vote, which has registered 50,000 people to vote in recent days, according to the network.

Organizers of more traditional voter registration drives say lockdowns and social distancing rules had hampered most face-to-face efforts in recent months.

“The rules of engagement have been completely upended,” said Tram Nguyen, co-executive director of New Virginia Majority, NPR reported.

“We’re not able to walk the neighborhood streets,” Nguyen said, according to the network. “We’re not able to set up tables at community centers and places where it’s easy to reach people in (the) community.”

With state offices, including motor vehicle departments, closed in most states, so-called “motor-voter” programs also took a huge hit, USA Today reported.

Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia, all potential battleground states, have seen a 50% drop in registrations in April 2020 over April 2016, according to the publication. Registrations in Texas and California fell by 75%.

Illinois, Maryland, Delaware and the District of Columbia also saw 50% drops, USA Today reported.

“This is not something that’s Democratic or Republican,” said David Becker, executive director of the nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation & Research, according to the publication.

“Both sides rely on the months leading up to a presidential election to engage with potential new voters and get them registered and hopefully voting,” Becker said, USA Today reported. “And it’s really hard to engage with a voter if you can’t get them registered.”

In Kentucky, a record increase in voter registrations in January quickly evaporated as the coronavirus pandemic hit, said Secretary of State Michael Adams, NPR reported.

“February we had a net 7,000 new registrations. And in March we had a net 500 new registrations,” Adams said, according to the network.

In April, Kentucky’s “voter rolls shrank” by 1,000 people, NPR reported.

The pandemic also has crippled third-party efforts to register new voters by PACs and other organizations.

“We’ve gone from registering 2,000 people a week to registering maybe 100,” said H. Drew Galloway, executive director of MOVE Texas, reported Mother Jones. “Voter registration is decimated in Texas.”

Engage Texas, a Republican super-PAC focused on voter registration efforts, shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic, The Texas Tribune reported.

“Leadership has determined that the highest and best use of supporter and donor energies at this point is to phase out person-to-person voter registration, close Engage Texas and encourage our supporters to engage with candidate and party activities ahead of the November election,” the organization said in a statement, according to the publication.

Some hope voter registration efforts rebound in September as the election draws closer, but the prospect of a second wave of coronavirus infections in the fall could put a damper on that, USA Today reported.

Former Vice President Joe Biden, a Democrat, will face incumbent President Donald Trump, a Republican, in November. Control of the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate also may be at stake in the election.

This story was originally published June 11, 2020 at 11:45 AM with the headline "Voter registration plunges for both parties in US as coronavirus hinders sign-up drives."