"Florida, for example, has put stringent restrictions  on voter registration drives, imposing fines and even criminal  penalties for the slightest infraction of complex rules. Groups like the  League of Women Voters and Rock the Vote  say they won’t participate in such a system. Election officials say the  rules limiting these drives are a significant reason that new  registrations are lower than they were four years ago.        
 Since President Obama was elected with help from a surge of support from  new voters, similar laws have been passed or introduced in South  Carolina, Michigan, Illinois, and several other states as part of a  Republican effort to restrict voting by groups that tend to vote  Democratic."