                             THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Wednesday, March 27, 1996              TAG: 9603270405
SECTION: FRONT                    PAGE: A9   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: STAFF AND WIRE REPORT 
                                             LENGTH: Medium:   91 lines

``MOTOR VOTER'' LAW SPURS FLOOD OF REGISTRATIONS, REPORT SAYS

One year after its implementation, the ``motor voter'' law has resulted in a record 11.2 million Americans either registering to vote or updating their registrations, according to a compilation of statistics from state election officials.

The report by Human SERVE, a nonprofit lobby for voter-registration reform, covers the period from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 1995. At a rate of nearly 1 million registrations a month, the report says, there has not been a greater increase in voter registration since the practice was established in the late 19th century.

In the three weeks since the law took effect in Virginia, about 6,000 new voters have been added through mail-in applications alone, said Bruce Meadows, secretary of the State Board of Elections in Richmond.

The total number of new voters added throughout Virginia will not be known until 135 local voter registrar offices verify the thousands of new applications making their way into the local offices, Meadows said.

The law did not go into effect in Virginia until March 6 because Gov. George F. Allen initially refused to implement the act, saying it was an unfunded mandate on state government. Democrats charged that Allen, a Republican, feared an influx of new voters more likely to vote Democratic.

Five other states challenged the law in federal court on similar grounds. Thus far, federal district courts in Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia, California and Illinois have upheld the law. A hearing is pending in Michigan.

Congress passed the National Voter Registration Act in 1993 to force states to make registration more accessible through motor-vehicle administrations, welfare and disability agencies, the U.S. mail, military recruitment offices and other outlets.

According to the Human SERVE report, more than half - 5.7 million - of these eligible voters either added their names to the rolls or updated their addresses while getting their driver's licenses or conducting other motor-vehicle business. Some 1.3 million Americans registered or updated at public-assistance agencies; and nearly 2 million Americans handled voter registation by mail.

The report did not contain demographic information on any of these new voters, or their party affiliations.

Becky Cain, president of the League of Women Voters, predicted at a news conference Tuesday that the motor-voter law would add 20 million voters by the November election. There were 133.8 million registered voters on the rolls for the 1992 presidential election.

The influx of voters in Virginia comes as city council and school board campaigns are under way for elections on May 7. The new registration procedures could mean a significantly larger voting pool, as well as more efforts by candidates to register potential supporters.

Local voter registrars say allowing potential voters to mail applications may be the most significant feature of the law, although most attention has focused on being able to sign up at the Division of Motor Vehicles - the ``motor'' part of the law.

Churches, civic leagues and candidates have been picking up hundreds of voter applications and passing them out to be mailed in, registrars said.

For the first time, a citizen will not have to be sworn in by a certified registrar.

Suffolk Registrar Sharon Porter said City Council candidates are picking up stacks of applications, having potential voters fill them out, and then returning the applications to the registrar.

Porter stressed that the applications must be filled out correctly and completely to be valid.

To register in time for the May 7 elections, state residents must have their applications in to the local registrar's office by April 8, or, if sent to Richmond, postmarked by that date.

Even with incomplete data, most Hampton Roads registrars report big increases so far - as well as some difficulty handling the increased workload.

``We've had about 1,500 register in about a week and a half,'' said Marlene Hager, Virginia Beach voter registrar. ``I think it's been a great success in Virginia Beach. (It's) quite a dramatic increase.''

The new law will mean some changes at the voting booth. When voting for the first time, people will have to bring a photo I.D. or they will not be allowed to vote. MEMO: The Washington Post and staff writers Alex Marshall, Toni Whitt, Karen