{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://watsoncoleman.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/watson-coleman-leads-colleagues-in-letter-to-secretary-yellen-to-increase-voter-registration-opportunities-at-vita-sites", "Watson Coleman Leads Colleagues in Letter to Secretary Yellen to Increase Voter Registration Opportunities at VITA Sites", "2021-08-12", "2021", "2021-08", "Democrat", "House", "NJ", "Bonnie Watson Coleman", "W000822", "watsoncoleman.house.gov", "watsoncoleman", "https://watsoncoleman.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "Today, Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12) lead 14 of her colleagues in a letter to Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen calling on her to increase access to voter registration at the nations thousands of Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program sites. Following research by the Brookings Institute, it\u2019s estimated that offering voter registration at VITA sites nationwide would lead to about 115,000 registrations of eligible voters without slowing tax preparation times.\n\n\u201cWhile Republican legislatures around the country are introducing laws to make it harder for Americans to vote, everything must be done to secure this fundamental right,\u201d said Watson Coleman. \u201cEvery effort must be made to combat these regressive tactics in the courts, in the legislature through bills like HR 1, and by the Biden administration by increasing access to voter registration information and making it easier for eligible voters to register. The best way to create opportunities to register is to provide registration materials at places in which many people interact.\n\nOn March 7th, President Biden signed an executive order tasking the heads of each federal agency with submitting a strategic plan outlining ways their agency could promote voter registration and participation. Forty-nine states require citizens to register before voting.\n\nThe letter also cites Rep. Watson Coleman\u2019s Filer Voter Act, a bill modeled on the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, better known as the Motor Voter Law, which allowed voters to register to vote at their local motor vehicle department. The Filer Voter Act would require tax preparers to provide individuals the option to receive voter registration materials.\n\nThe letter was signed by Reps. Earl Blumenauer (OR-3), Salud Carbajal (CA-24), Jim Cooper (TN-5), Dwight Evans (PA-3), Ra\u00fal Grijalva (AZ-3), Ro Khanna (CA-17), John B. Larson (CT-01), Tim Ryan (OH-13), Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-5), Thomas Suozzi (NY-3), Rashida Tlaib (MI-13), John Yarmuth (KY-3), Alma Adams, Ph.D. (NC-12), and James P. McGovern (MA-2).", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:11:17Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://watsoncoleman.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/watson-coleman-leads-colleagues-in-letter-to-secretary-yellen-to-increase-voter-registration-opportunities-at-vita-sites"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9840419515967369, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}