Registration on day of election considered Backers say plan would draw more voters

Winston Salem Journal ^ | April 17, 2003 | Dana Damico

[Kuksool]

Registration on day of election considered Backers say plan would draw more voters

By Dana Damico JOURNAL RALEIGH BUREAU

RALEIGH

Hoping to lure North Carolina's 1 million unregistered voters to the polls, state legislators are considering a proposal to allow people to vote on the same day that they register.

The proposal's supporters say that most people pay scant attention to candidates until the last few weeks of an election. And if they get motivated to vote then - but have not registered - they are out of luck. Current law requires people to register 25 days before an election.

Under the proposal, people qualified to vote could register and vote at one-stop voting sites that open 19 days before Election Day.

On Election Day, they could register and vote at a central site picked by county elections officials.

Six states offer so-called same-day registration.

"I'm one of the advocates that North Carolina should be the seventh state and remove this barrier (to voting)," said Rep. Earline Parmon, D-Forsyth. "It will help younger people get involved." Parmon said.

To discourage voter fraud, people would be required to show identification and proof of residency, and sign a statement swearing that the information they gave is accurate. They could be prosecuted for perjury - a felony - if they lie.

"There's more checks on this kind of voting than on any other kind of voting that you do in this state," said Rep. Deborah Ross, D-Wake, a chief sponsor of the bill that is scheduled for debate in a House committee today.

Chris Haggerty of the N.C. Center for Voter Education said he was initially skeptical of the proposal, given the history of voter fraud in North Carolina. But he said that the multiple security provisions put his doubts to rest.

To register, voters would have to show more personal documents than would be required to open a checking account or apply for a driver's license, he said.

"This is a proposal that has won me over," Haggerty said.

Democracy North Carolina, a campaign watchdog group that supports the legislation, says that 1 million North Carolinians 18 and older are not registered to vote, and 400,000 of them are between the ages of 18 and 34.

More than 200,000 of that group are under the age of 25.

"This is a bill that could really reach across a wide spectrum," said Bob Hall of Democracy North Carolina.

Sen. Patrick Ballantine, R-New Hanover, said that the proposal would not favor parties but help the hardest-working candidate.

"It's not a partisan issue," Ballantine said. "All parties are going to work to register people up to the last minute. This just extends the game into overtime.

"With the new technology, we ought to be able to handle it," he said.

Sen. Fletcher Hartsell, R-Cabarrus, agreed.

"If they're eligible to vote, qualified to vote, present themselves to vote - only once - then they should vote," Hartsell said. "Anything we can do to assist voter participation is useful for democracy. I'm not going to say it will significantly increase participation but it will."

Proponents figure that the proposal could improve North Carolina's voter turnout by 5 percent or more and pull the state from its near-bottom ranking in national voter turnout. Democracy North Carolina reports that state voter turnout ranked 44th in presidential elections from 1980 to 2000.

The six states that allow same-day registration - Idaho, Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Wisconsin and Wyoming - had an average voter turnout rate of 61 percent in the 1996 and 2000 presidential elections, Hall said. About 47 percent of North Carolinians eligible to vote went to the polls in the two elections.

The N.C. Center for Public Policy Research released a report today on voter turnout that calls for a series of election reforms, including legislation to allow workers time off to vote and experimentation with voting by mail, as Oregon does, and by Internet, a process already in place in Alaska.

• Dana Damico can be reached in Raleigh at (919) 833-9916 or at ddamico@wsjournal.com

[lepton]

Why do we want more people to vote? I can see we might want more people to prepare themselves to vote, but why encourage whimsical voting?

[JohnnyZ]

Hm, wierd that Ballantine, et al, are on board. Do they think that the Republicans can match or beat the Dems at knock-and-drag voter turnout???

[JohnnyZ]

Don't mind me, just trying out my new tag line.

[Howlin]

They are missing the one item that is MANDATORY:

A birth certificate.

[JohnnyZ]

Ah, this one is better.

So, about the voting, we don't think this is going to pass this year? I wonder . . .

[Kuksool]

A birth certificate is definitely needed when registering to vote. I suspect the proposed bill is intended to target the incoming out of state college freshman who arrive during the fall. Politicians see these young students as a rich source of votes.

We can certainly trust the professors at Chapel Hill and Duke University to help the students make informed decisions on election day./SARCASM

[Kuksool]

PING!

Proof that the GOP is the stupid party.

[fieldmarshaldj]

Ballantine and these other GOP characters keep up with this nonsense and they're going to soon be out of a job selling latex for Vandalay Industries.

[Constitution Day]

"With the new technology, we ought to be able to handle it," he said.

This is madness. Thanks for the ping, though.

[Constitution Day]

NC ping!
Please FRmail me if you want to be added to or removed from this North Carolina ping list.

[Wphile]

JUST SAY NO TO SAME DAY VOTER REGISTRATION!

This is nonsense. And who really cares if people don't vote? The last thing this country needs is more ignorant voters. Voting is a right but it is also a choice. If you choose to vote, then you must register and you must do so prior to election day. What's so frickin' hard about that? The fraud will be enormous if this sort of voting is allowed.

[PogySailor]

Sorry. There is no good reason to have people that can't be troubled to register before hand do so on election day. This would be worse than Motor Voter.

[F.J. Mitchell]

Why limit voting to humans-most animals are better informed than this bunch of irresponsible air heads these desperate politicians want to drag kicking and screaming, to be registered?

Where's PETA???

[F.J. Mitchell]

Keep trying,Z.

[JohnnyZ]

I have moved on. So should you do, as the Brits would say.

[Deport Billary]

Sen. Patrick Ballantine, R-New Hanover, said that the proposal would not favor parties but help the hardest-working candidate. "It's not a partisan issue," Ballantine said. "All parties are going to work to register people up to the last minute. This just extends the game into overtime. "With the new technology, we ought to be able to handle it," he said.

The republicans in our state are eminently stupid. They are witless to the infinite power. Even California voted this down. Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of communism, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. Texas and Florida, they comfort me. Thou preparest a home for me, away from these retards. etc, etc

[Quick1]

It's the reason Jesse Ventura won, because there were scores of new voters coming to vote for him, and because Minnesota has a same day registration clause, they were able to vote.

Sorry, I don't believe that making it harder to vote makes things any better. It only turns people off from politics even more. Voting is and always will be one of your civic duties, and we should be encouraging that.

[Quick1]

Oh please. Just because you register on the same day does not make you an "ignorant voter". Here in Minnesota, I haven't heard anything "massive amounts of voter fraud", either. There are a few states with this legislation already in place, and it works well. MN has had a higher turnout compared to the rest of the nation's average since it was put into place.

[Quick1]

Spare me the drama. It works to increase voter turnout, and not just for people who vote D, either. It's not just the Ds that want this.

Increased voter fraud? Look at states with same-day registration already in place, and let me know how much voter fraud is in there.

I can't believe how it seems that all the Freepers here are against this idea. It's a good one, and will get people more involved in politics.

[Deport Billary]

NC is home to hordes of illegals. Illegal aliens get drivers licenses in NC. This WILL encourage voter fraud.