Same-Day Registration
More than a dozen states plus the District of Columbia now offer same-day registration (SDR), allowing qualified residents to go to the polls or an election official’s office, before or on Election Day, register to vote, and then cast a ballot, all on the same day.
In most states, voters must register well before Election Day. The deadline varies, with states requiring registration eight to 30 days before the election.
Maintaining a period between registration and voting allows election officials time to verify the qualifications and residency of the voter, thus reducing the opportunity for vote fraud. Once an unverified and unqualified voter casts a ballot and it is counted, there is no way to go back and disqualify the illegally cast ballot.
Combining registration and voting on the same day causes long lines and unnecessary chaos on a day when millions of people are voting. The congestion caused by same-day registration can overwhelm poll workers and create long lines for registered voters. Same-day registration provides unnecessary pressure on local election officials who are responsible for providing up-to-date voter registration lists to each polling place.
As Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker observes, “States across the country that have same-day registration have real problems because the vast majority of their states have poll workers who are wonderful volunteers, who work 13-hour days and who in most cases are retirees,” he said. “It’s difficult for them to handle the volume of people who come at the last minute. It’d be much better if registration was done in advance of Election Day. It’d be easier for our clerks to handle that.”
The unverified registration process favors those political candidates who can round up otherwise indifferent citizens who know little about what’s on the ballot. An informed citizenry is the bulwark of a constitutional, democratic republic.
ACRU Commentary
News
New Hampshire Secretary of State Warns of Potential Vote Fraud
New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardner told WMUR that the state's same-day voter registration poses a threat to the integrity of the process. About 35,000 people registered and voted on Nov. 4. No ID was required, just a signature. Rep. Sharon Carson (R-Nashua), who is introducing legislation to impose a 30-day residency requirement, said, "We have a problem with drive-by voting."
Supreme Court Upholds North Carolina Voting Law
WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld North Carolina's new voting law, which cuts back on early voting and eliminates same-day registration. The ruling affects North Carolina, scene of a tight Senate race that could help decide which party wins control of that chamber for the final two years of President Obama's term. The justices reversed a federal appeals court's decision that would have allowed same-day registration and counted votes cast mistakenly in the wrong precincts. Those were among several other procedures eliminated by the state Legislature last year.
Federal Court Overturns Part of NC Voting Reforms
A federal appeals court granted a temporary order on Wednesday that will allow same-day registration and provisional ballots in this fall's North Carolina elections, but refused to intervene on changes that shortened the early voting period. The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments in Charlotte last Thursday in the case that came after the Republican-led N.C. General Assembly passed a series of changes in 2013. Supporters say the measures are intended to strengthen the integrity of elections. Those who sued to overturn the laws say the changes are unfair because they disproportionately hurt young voters and minorities. Wednesday's ruling means voters can register and vote on the same day during the in-person early voting period, Oct. 23-Nov. 1. The temporary order also allows voters to cast ballots even if they show up at the wrong precinct. All three of the judges who heard the arguments last week were appointed to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals by Democratic presidents.
Justice Department to Intervene in Ohio, Wisconsin Voting Law Cases
The Obama administration plans to join lawsuits against Republican-backed voting restrictions in Ohio and Wisconsin -- two major swing states, Attorney General Eric Holder has said. The moves would represent the first time that Holder's Justice Department has intervened against statewide voting laws outside the areas that the Supreme Court freed from federal oversight in last year's Shelby County v. Holder ruling. They underline the administration's intention to aggressively protect voting rights across the country, not only in the mostly southern jurisdictions directly affected by Shelby. Earlier this year, Ohio's Republican legislature passed laws that cut six days from the early voting period and ended same-day registration, among other restrictions. Secretary of State Jon Husted then announced that there would be no early voting on Sundays or on week-day evenings. A federal judge recently restored early voting on the last three days before the election, but the other cuts remain in force. They're being challenged by the ACLU and other civil rights groups, which allege that they disproportionately affect non-white voters. A brief filed recently by the laws' challengers uses detailed voting records to establish that blacks are far likelier than whites to take advantage of early voting. In 2012, 20% of blacks did so, compared to just 6% of whites. Wisconsin's strict voter ID law was recently struck down by a federal judge, who ruled that it discriminated against black voters. But the state has appealed the ruling, and the litigation is ongoing.
GOP, Dems at Odds over New Colorado Same-Day Law
A politically polarizing new election law will get its first test run during the Sept. 10 recall elections in Pueblo and Colorado Springs. Same-day voter registration became mandatory with an elections overhaul bill that was signed into law in May. Democrats say allowing voters to register on election day provides greater access to the polls; Republicans say it will lead to rampant election fraud.
Colorado Dems Push Through Same-Day Voter Registration
DENVER (AP) -- In a bitter fight, Colorado Democrats recently muscled through the Statehouse a massive elections reform bill that allows voters to register up until Election Day and still cast their ballots. It's the latest -- and most substantial -- development in a nationwide Democratic Party effort to strike back at two years of Republican success in passing measures to require identification at polling places and purge rolls of suspect voters.