Examining Potential Updates to the NVRA - December 10, 2025

The hearing “Examining Potential Updates to the NVRA” was held December 10, 2025, by the House Committee on House Administration’s Subcommittee on Elections. Chaired by Rep. Laurel Lee (R-FL), it focused on modernizing the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (the “motor-voter” law).Republican members argued that the 30-year-old law is outdated, particularly with respect to online registration, interstate voter-roll cross-checks, and removing ineligible registrants (deceased individuals, non-citizens, and those who have moved). They highlighted the need for greater accuracy, real-time data sharing (such as mandatory participation in the Electronic Registration Information Center), and stronger enforcement mechanisms to prevent fraud while streamlining processes. Democrats, led by Ranking Member Terri Sewell (D-AL), cautioned that poorly designed changes could disproportionately burden low-income voters, seniors, and communities of color, potentially violating the NVRA’s core purpose of expanding access. They stressed that any updates must preserve automatic registration opportunities at DMVs and public-assistance agencies. The roughly 90-minute hearing underscored the ongoing partisan divide over election integrity versus voter access as Congress considers reforms in the 119th session.
Witnesses
Michael Morley – Faculty Director of the Election Law Center and Sheila M. McDevitt Professor of Law, Florida State University College of Law
Mark Braden – Of Counsel, Baker Hostetler
Sophia Lakin – Director, Voting Rights Project, American Civil Liberties Union