In the first week in November, the Voting Rights Section of the U.S. Justice Department asked 18 states to prove that they are in compliance with the 1993 federal voter registration law. That law is commonly refered to as “Motor Voter.” It requires state and local government welfare offices and Department of Motor Vehicles offices to help register voters. The states are Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Utah and Vermont.

Petitioning is more successful when a large proportion of adult citizens are registered to vote. It is believed that the above-named states have not been following the federal law, partly because federal enforcement has been lax during the last six years. If the Justice Department’s new interest in enforcing “Motor Voter” is successful in increasing the percentage of adult citizens who are registered voters, that will help minor party and independent candidate petitions, and it will also help initiatives.