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Politics is about improving people’s lives and fighting for the future that we believe in and that our families and neighbors deserve. Each of us got into public service for the people of Colorado because we believe smart policy is the key to transforming lives and creating a more equitable society.
To us, that means a society in which kids have access to educational opportunities that prepare them for the future; in which economic policies create the conditions for workers and families to thrive, not just survive; and in which every single eligible Coloradan has the freedom to participate in our democratic processes and have their voice heard.
We’re proud to have helped our state emerge as a national leader when it comes to designing efficient and secure systems that ensure Coloradans can more easily access one of our most cherished responsibilities — the right to vote. Colorado led the way in expanding and strengthening our automatic voter registration system to a secure automatic voter registration, or SAVR, at the Department of Motor Vehicles in 2018 — a policy shift that allowed us to double the rate at which unregistered DMV customers registered to vote.
We knew we could build on our success at the DMV to expand the promise of civic participation to even more eligible — and often underrepresented — Coloradans. That’s why, in 2019, we were proud to lead the successful effort to pass legislation expanding SAVR to state Medicaid offices. The expansion would allow us to engage upward of 428,000 additional eligible but currently unregistered voters, according to data from the Institute for Responsive Government.
Now that we understand the full potential of SAVR, we’re hopeful that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, will provide guidance that would make it easier for us to implement our policy as quickly as possible. We’re not alone: six other states and the District of Columbia have passed similar SAVR at Medicaid policies, and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis has joined the governors of New Mexico and Oregon in calling on CMS to expedite guidance. Earlier this year, nearly four dozen policy, grassroots, and community-based organizations also called for swift action from the federal government.
We can’t over-emphasize the opportunity here to engage Coloradans who are too often left out of our democracy: Eligible but unregistered voters at Medicaid typically come from historically underrepresented communities, including voters of color, voters with disabilities, and low-income voters.
And while the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 requires that state offices like Medicaid offer customers the opportunity to register, it’s just not an effective system. Medicaid applications, like so many types of government paperwork, are often dense and confusing documents which can easily bog people down — it’s no wonder that Medicaid enrollment is actually negatively correlated with voter registration, even after adjusting for factors like race, age, income or education status.
SAVR at Medicaid addresses this by utilizing information that state agencies already collect, using that information to filter out non-citizens and others ineligible to vote, and automatically registering those who are eligible.
We know firsthand the realities facing all too many Coloradans who would otherwise benefit from SAVR at Medicaid. One of us — Sen. Fenberg — grew up going door to door to canvas for candidates, getting to meet so many different types of people at each door and learning about the daily challenges facing so many across our state. One of us — Sen. Mullica — grew up knowing what it’s like to see a parent work relentlessly to make ends meet, while still struggling to put food on the table and keep a roof over one’s head.
For so many Coloradans who are most impacted by the policies we are elected to consider, there often are more pressing concerns that extend beyond bureaucratic mounds of government paperwork.
SAVR at Medicaid is a textbook example of the type of policy that improves people’s lives and contributes to a stronger future; and it’s exactly the type of efficient and equitable policymaking that our neighbors elected us to do. As soon as we begin implementing our SAVR policy, we’ll not only engage hundreds of thousands of new Colorado voters, but we’ll also be streamlining government services — keeping costs down for taxpayers and improving the security of our voter rolls in the process.
We’re committed to continuing to lead the nation when it comes to secure, efficient and innovative ways to boost civic engagement — and CMS acting quickly to provide guidance will bring us even closer to that reality.
State Senate President Steve Fenberg, of Boulder County, represents District 18.
State Senator Kyle Mullica, of Adams County, represents District 24.
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