Integrating Voter Registration into the Enrollment Process

By Dana Lawrence, Director of Communications and Grassroots Advocacy at the Michigan Primary Care Association. A version of this post appeared on their website.

Last week a group of folks from Michigan Health Centers and other nonprofit organizations came together for a training presented by Michigan Primary Care Association in collaboration with Nonprofit VOTE, Michigan Nonprofit Association, Michigan Voice, and the National Association of Community Health Centers on how to integrate voter registration assistance into the health insurance enrollment process. With just two weeks until open enrollment begins for plans in the Health Insurance Marketplace, enrollment staff are gearing up to provide quality assistance to Health Center patients and other community members.

Asking someone if they would like to register to vote while they are enrolling for health insurance is actually a natural fit. The question of whether an individual would like to register to vote is on the Marketplace application, as well as in Michigan's online application for public assistance programs offered through the Department of Human Services.

"In addition to helping patients apply for health insurance, another service we think is important for Health Centers to provide is helping individuals register to vote or update their voter registration," said Natasha Robinson, Program Specialist, Outreach, Enrollment & Education, Michigan Primary Care Association. "An individual's vote matters to their health care and their Health Center, and assisting them through the voter registration application takes just a few minutes but offers tremendous, lifelong benefits."

By integrating voter registration assistance into the enrollment process, Health Centers will reach individuals who might otherwise not register to vote. When registered to vote, individuals are empowered to make their voices heard, and they realize that their vote can make a difference. Plus, studies show registered voters are more likely to be civically engaged. People who vote have a powerful impact on public policy and government, and influence laws and budgeting.

The nonprofit sector, which includes Health Centers, serves underrepresented and underserved populations with a history of lower voter participation, and wide gaps in who votes undermines democracy and nonprofit missions and goals. A new report recently released by Nonprofit VOTE, Can Nonprofits Increase Voting, demonstrates that nonprofits have the ability to close voter turnout gaps. For example, constituents engaged by nonprofits to register to vote in the 2012 election were markedly more diverse and lower income, yet the voter turnout among those contacted by nonprofits was 74%, six points above the 68% turnout rate for all registered voters.

Long story short, the upcoming implementation of the Affordable Care Act – beginning with the launch of open enrollment on October 1, 2013 – will bring millions of Americans into Health Centers and other social service agencies across the country. This offers Health Centers a unique opportunity to give their clients the option of registering to vote or updating their voter registration if they've moved or had a name change. Many Health Centers and other agencies already offer ongoing nonpartisan voter registration assistance as part of their Medicaid and WIC application and renewal processes to comply with the National Voter Registration Act. Health Centers now have a chance to offer the same voter registration assistance to significantly more people.

Webinar Recap: Health Insurance Enrollment and Voter Registration

Yesterday's webinar, Health Insurance Enrollment and Voter Registration for Health Centers and Other Nonprofits, is now available. Many thanks to Robert Brandon of the Fair Elections Legal Network and Marc Wetherhorn of the National Association of Community Health Centers for joining us for this discussion.

Watch the presentation on YouTube. If you subscribe to our channel, you'll be notified whenever new content is posted. You can also download the PowerPoint presentation and the audio portion of the presentation, or browse all of our nonpartisan resources on voter registration to learn more.

Health Insurance Enrollment and Voter Registration

What does voter registration have to do with ACA enrollment? Find out during our next webinar:
 
Health Insurance Enrollment and Voter Registration for Health Centers and Other Nonprofits
Wednesday August 21st, 2:00-3:00pm Eastern

Starting October 1st millions of Americans will become eligible to enroll in Medicaid or a health exchange health insurance plan under the new Affordable Care Act. Join us to learn how requirements under the National Voter Registration Act will effect health centers and other nonprofit agencies involved in ACA enrollment. We'll cover how-tos and tips for conducting voter registration during enrollment and describe the support, materials, and other resources available to organizations like yours.

Featured Presenters: Robert M. Brandon, President and Co-Founder of the Fair Elections Legal Network, is a public interest attorney with more than 30 years of public policy, legal, legislative, media, and campaign experience at the federal, state, and local levels. He is also President of Robert M. Brandon and Associates, a public affairs firm that works to advance public interest and grassroots goals. Marc Wetherhorn is the Senior Director of Advocacy and Civic Engagement at the National Association of Community Health Centers where he directs their national grassroots campaign efforts. He provides training and technical assistance to primary care associations and health centers on grassroots strategy and state-based policy issues.

The Affordable Care Act and Voter Registration

On the 20th anniversary of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), which requires departments of motor vehicles and agencies providing public assistance to offer voter registration, the Affordable Care Act provides another great opportunity to reach Americans about registering to vote.

An estimated 68 million people will be enrolling in the new health exchanges--16 million in 2014 alone. Like getting a driver's license or signing up for public assistance, people enrolling will be asked if they want to register to vote. The Department of Health and Human Services has included a question about registering to vote in the current version of the enrollment form. A new Demos report notes, "Because subsidized health insurance under the ACA – 'Insurance Affordability Programs' – constitutes public assistance, the NVRA’s requirement for providing voter registration services applies."

Health centers and nonprofits will be on the front lines of enrollment. Nonprofit VOTE is working with the National Association of Community Health Centers and other partners to create trainings and resources to help nonprofits take advantage of this historic opportunity. Through this new avenue, millions of Americans can be included in the political process.

For more, read the Demos report Building a Healthy Democracy: Registering 68 Million People to Vote through Health Benefit Exchanges.

Partner Spotlight: National Association of Community Health Centers

As the year comes to an end, we want to recognize the work of our many state and national partners, along with the local nonprofits who made an impact on voter turnout by registering and educating their communities.

In 2012, the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) had 175 members that conducted voter registration activities. The participating health centers were located in 34 states--from Oklahoma to Massachusetts, South Carolina, and Hawaii--representing both urban and rural locations with mixed demographics. These health centers registered or re-registered over 25,000 voters and collected an additional 10,000 voter pledges.

Although NACHC has managed their Community Health Vote program for a number of years, in 2012 they made great strides in working to develop a reservoir of best practices to help additional health centers determine what strategies might be successful at their specific sites. Health centers engaged in a variety of voter registration, education, and get-out-the-vote activities: a health center in Philadelphia distributed educational materials on voter ID, while centers in Las Vegas and North Carolina provided transportation to the polls during early voting. Some health centers established voter registration and information kiosks in waiting rooms. NACHC also maintained a national number that voters could text to find their polling place which over 1,000 individuals utilized. A provider in South Carolina helped a 108-year-old woman register and vote for the first time.

The National Voter Registration Act requires health centers that enroll patients in WIC and Medicare to ask about voter registration. Thus, many health centers already offer voter registration on an ongoing basis and have used this requirement to consider how to expand voter registration to other points of service. Rather than episodic registration drives, some are considering how to maintain voter engagement efforts year round while expanding the work during general elections.

One barrier is that there is no template for doing this work at health centers because their staffing, foot traffic, services, and populations vary so much. A half dozen health centers participated in case studies to provide ideas and guidance for others moving forward. Like other nonprofits it is often left to the individual organization to determine what will work best for their constituents and community.

Pushing for Registration at Indian Health Service Facilities

On Tuesday, Jefferson Keel, president of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), said that Indian Health Service facilities should be designated voter registration sites in the same way state-based public assistance agencies are under the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA).

Keel noted that the facilities are ideal for voter registration because they're in many tribal communities and that "Not all Native Americans are registered." Earlier this week he told a gathering of tribal leaders that only two of every five eligible American Indians and Alaska Natives were registered in 2008, and that an estimated 1 million eligible Native voters are not registered. "This should be considered a civic emergency."

In some states, many public assistance agencies are not fully compliant with NVRA requirements, but when brought into compliance they have proved particularly effective:

• In 2010, Colorado agencies registered nearly 44,000 voters.  
• Missouri public assistance agencies are averaging 115,000 registrations per year.
• In the first 6 months of 2010, more than 100,000 Ohio residents registered through public assistance offices.

Most importantly, all of these registrations are conducted in the course of providing other routine services. This model is so effective because it utilizes an organization's location and standing in the community. This applies equally to your nonprofit: Although the NVRA may not require you to offer voter registration, you can still ensure your clients and community register and vote in 2012! Learn more about nonprofit voter registration.