Bill > HB319

This bill directs the Secretary of Administration to establish a work group to study the implementation of "back-end, opt-out automatic voter registration" (AVR) in Virginia. Automatic voter registration means that eligible citizens would be automatically registered to vote when they interact with government agencies, rather than having to actively sign up. "Back-end, opt-out" signifies that registration would occur after a person interacts with a government agency, and they would have to actively choose *not* to be registered, whereas the current "front-end, opt-out" system likely means registration is initiated when interacting with an agency, and individuals must opt-in. The work group will include representatives from various state agencies like the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Virginia Information Technologies Agency, as well as legislators, local election officials, and voting rights and data privacy advocates. Their task is to compare the effectiveness, efficiency, and security of the proposed back-end, opt-out system with the current front-end, opt-out system, and to identify the costs and benefits of making this change, including any technological hurdles. The Secretary must then submit a report of these findings and any legislative recommendations to the Chairs of the House and Senate Committees on Privileges and Elections by November 1, 2026.