What do you know about Election Day Registration?

[wildeyed]

I have become extremely interested in the subject after spending way too may hours with a clipboard in the Kmart parking lot on hot summer days trying to get people registered to vote, only to find out later that hardly any of the newly registered made it to the polls.

With Election Day Registration, I can do my registration drives and GOTV at the same time. Much more efficient, plus the people who historically don't turn out at the polls, young people, people who move around a lot, the homeless are better represented.

There is some worry that Election Day Registartion would increase voter fraud, but that hasn't been the case in the states that have adopted the system.

We have a bill pending here in NC that I have been working a little bit to promote. Don't think it will pass this year. We would need almost every single Demo vote to pass it, and there are a few stick-in-the-muds who are not on board.

I think that Election Day could be the first step to reforming the electoral process. I am a Democrat, but I do think that the two party system is killing us in this country. Election Day gives third party candidates a better shot. It gives us in the grassroots a formidable tool to GOTV with, and I think it make the candidates more accountable to the people since more of them will be voting. States with Election Day Registration have something like and extra 10% turnout on election day.

Here is a link with more info. http://www.demos-usa.org/page18.cfm

Any other thoughts on this subject?

[NMDemDist2]

1. I'm not crazy about the idea. seems to me if you're too busy to register

within 2 months of the election, you're probably too busy (or stupid) to research the issues

it also opens up all kinds of fraud opportunities with unethical folks paying for votes

"Hey buddy, ya wanna make $20 real fast? Just go down and vote for XYZ will ya?"

[wildeyed]

3. I dunno, if informed and intelligent was a prerequisite for voting,

we probably would not have the current admin.

I completely disagree that the time limit is somehow a benefit. It is just another unnecessary hoop that busy people have to jump through in order to exercise their franchise. But then, I believe that voting is a right, not a privilege. If it were up to me, voting would be mandatory in this country.

I have been turned away at the polls. I was young, moved around a lot, and somehow my registration had been canceled. A lot of the people I work with in registration drives have similar issues. They may not have a vehicle, therefor did not do the motor voter registration. They move often because they are poor and can't afford to buy a house. They are not necessarily anymore uniformed than the average voter. And let's be real, most people don't start thinking about an election until right before when the media starts to publicize it. We, on the site, are really abnormal in that we think about politics all the time. So the more affluent voters can maintain a registration with no effort because they maintain an address and own a car. The less affluent voter has more hoops to jump through. Election Day Registration removes one of those hoops.

The registration time limit used to be necessary for administrative reasons in the age before computers. We now do almost everything else instantaneously, why does a time limit on registration impart some kind of moral value?

As far as fraud, there is no indication that there is any more fraud in Election Day Registration states than in states that use then old system. The punishment for voter fraud is pretty heinous, anyway. Someone told me the other day that you get less time for bribing a public official than you do for voter fraud.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

2. what worries me

is that tons of folks won't bother to get registered until the last day,
and there will be big drives.

Busloads of folks, probably more than a few loaded to the gills,
will show up to register and vote.
Will poll workers be able to handle it?

Do we really want electronic poll books proliferating all over
the place?

Will all of those thousands of poll workers get it right?

These ballots of the same day registered voters -
are most likely to be challenged by observers.


Think of how alot of folks voted provisionally, rather than go to the
right precinct. Because of this, only parts of their ballots were counted
if they were counted at all.

We had tons of provisionals thrown out in NC.

Even the most liberal election directors tell me that they don't like the idea.

I may be wrong about this, but we should know lots more by next year.

As for increasing turnout, the only numbers I have seen in reports pushing for
same day registration are for 2000 and 1996. It is like they forgot 2004 has occurred.

[wildeyed]

4. I think you bring up valid concerns.

It is important to get poll workers trained properly, and to be certain that the system is not abused. But the benefits of this law are so clear to me, that I believe it is worth the effort to change.

In NC, it won't actually be election day registration. The same day registration would occur only during the early voting time. Same day utilizes the same technology we already use for early voting, so the poll workers should be able to get up to speed pretty quickly. Also, it won't cost the taxpayers anything in our state, since we already have the technology in place.

The same day ballots are retrievable, and cast early. What this means is we can check the registration info of the voter to be certain it is valid before the vote is actually cast. If the registration is fraudulent, then it will be thrown out. And yes, the pubs will try to get as many thrown out as possible. And we will fight to get them included. But reasoning that the pubs will try to disenfranchise voters unfairly is not a good reason to not got to bat, try to get those voters turned out. In fact, if you think about it, by not trying to implement same day, based on that concern, the pubs won, since we got discouraged and didn't even fight the battle, much less try to win it.

My understanding was that Dickerson, the Mecklenburg BOE guy, was positive about this issue, but that Union and Cabbarrus were not. I am only familiar with my area, I am not sure what opinions are in other parts of the state. But you can hardly blame them for being nervous. It is more work for them, and potentially embarrassing if things don't go smoothly. But again, I think the potential benefits outweigh the concerns, in this case a bureaucrat's career anxiety.

I don't know what the 2004 stats are. I can ask around if you are really interested. I suspect they are out there, and the website is not updated yet.

[NMDemDist2]

5. well that makes more sense and wouldn't stress the system too much

as long as they could process the registrations by election day I can see no major problem with it

I'm thinking like a poll worker cuz in NM I'll have the time to do it and plan to sign up for November's election when I re-register over there next month

[dragonlady]

6. We have same-day registration and it works fine

Wisconsin has had same-day registration for a long time, and combined with a 10-day residency period it is a good way to maximize the number of people who vote. As others have said, it is very helpful to people who move a lot and don't have time or transportation to go to some office and register. They can take care of it when they stop by to vote. It's especially valuable when someone shows up and is not on the voter list for whatever reason (clerical errors do happen, registration cards don't get turned in, whatever). The voter can just reregister and won't lose the opportunity to cast a vote. I don't think it puts too much stress on the poll workers unless there is a real crush like the one I saw in Milwaukee in 2004 at an inner-city ward I was observing (combination of turnout for Kerry and for Gwen Moore, the first African-American in Congress from Wisconsin). Even so, the balance between bureaucracy and convenience should be struck in favor of the voter. We should do whatever can reasonably be done to encourage people to vote--that's what makes us a democracy. And let's face it, the Republicans just love to restrict voting because that hurts us worse than it hurts them.

[wildeyed]

7. Great quote, thanks!

"the balance between bureaucracy and convenience should be struck in favor of the voter."

[sybylla]

8. I'll second that!

As another Wisconsinite, I agree wholeheartedly. I've voted at busy polls in Madison and at small rural polls with only a couple of poll workers. Never have I had any trouble registering on the same day. The process was simple, the workers knowledgeable.

Letting everyone vote who wants to vote and is eligible to vote is not as difficult as the Republicans want you to believe.

[Kukesa]

9. Not permitted in Ohio.

And we have enough trouble with our SoS -- Ken Blackwell -- that we don't dare tax his little brain with more ideas. He has his hands full preparing for election fraud as it is.

Here are the rules, taken from the Montgomery County Board of Elections site::


You may request a registration form from the Board of Elections or the Secretary of State’s office by mail, telephone, in person.



Mailed registration forms sent to the Board of Elections or the Secretary of State’s office must be postmarked 30 days before an election to be valid.



All other registration forms must be received by the Board of Elections or any branch registration agency 30 days before an election to be valid for that election.

[wildeyed]

10. You guys have enough problems in OH.

Same-day Registration is a long way off for you. But in states with dem majority legislatures, it is a possibility. My state, NC, is a "red state" in national politics, but on the state level, we are actually blue. Barely, but we are. I would love to see this law passed, and I think it would affect change in leadership at the national level, too.

[Kixel]

11. Minnesota Has it

And...it's sad to say, but I have used it every time I voted. It's an issue when you move-I have actually voted in different precincts the last three (soon to be four) votes.

I think it's a lot simpler than people assume it is. We have had it since I have been voting and I have never heard of any real problems regarding fraud. It does make the process very painless-simplifying voting means more people can get involved. I should also mention, I have always been very well informed on the issues even if I am doing same day registration. It's just complicated when you lead a more transient life style due to school or moves from one apartment to the other.

It's interesting, I have never really thought about how odd it is that a active Dem isn't registered-I even did get out the vote during the last election after registering at the poles. The thing is, most people don't take politics as seriously as people who spend time on sites like these. On election day 2004, I received a lot of phone calls from of friends who were going to vote-they wanted my run down on local politics and to know where to vote. Once less form to fill out in advance makes it a lot easier. Shouldn't voting be as simple as possible?