Same-Day Voter Registration Is Sought
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The city should allow New Yorkers who haven’t previously registered to show up at the polls on Election Day and vote, the advocacy group Citizens Union says in a report to be released today.
The 35-page report, an advance copy of which was provided to The New York Sun, found that the “same day voter registration” would help eliminate confusion about registration status and encourage more people to go to the polls in a state with low voter turnout.
Citizens Union and several other groups have been advocating for Election Day registration for some time. The groups are, however, ramping up their campaigns because New York State is on the verge of upgrading its antiquated voting machines.
With implementation of the federal Help America Vote Act now moving forward, Citizens Union is going to the next item on its election-reform wish list.
The policy and advocacy director at Citizens Union, Doug Israel, said it was an “opportune” time to implement same-day registration because New York is planning a statewide voter database that would make the process easier. Eligible voters who decide they want to cast ballots shortly before an election should have that right, he said.
“With the imminent acquisition of new voting machines and the creation of a statewide voter database, it creates an opportunity to eliminate the unnecessary and burdensome twenty-five day voter registration deadline,” the report concludes.
If history is an indicator, getting approval for same-day voter registration will not be easy. A bill introduced by Assemblyman Scott Stringer, who tomorrow is expected to win handily his election to become president of Manhattan, has stalled several times, and getting it through the state Senate is a long shot.
“The bill is currently waylaid in the State Assembly’s Election Law Committee, where it died in the previous three legislative sessions,” according to the report, which is filled with statistics, graphs, and charts.
In a statement, Mr. Stringer said the measure would encourage “greater electoral access.”
“The continued evidence that the public is shut out of the electoral process before an election heats up is reason enough to enact Election Day Registration,” he said.
Opponents of same-day registration say it will increase voter fraud, create an administrative nightmare for the Board of Elections, and require too much taxpayer money. It would also require a change to the state Constitution.
“The logistical problems of doing that are enormous,” a state senator, Frank Padavan of Queens, said. “If you go to some polling places, particularly during a presidential election and even on Tuesday during the mayoral election, you’ll see lines of people waiting to vote.”
The senator said he would listen to arguments for the measure, but that on first blush it seemed like it could back fire and discourage voting.
“There would be chaos,” he said. “People could get discouraged. They go vote and there’d be long lines and they’ll turn around and walk out. It could have a negative effect.”
Mayor Bloomberg is pushing to allow voter registration up until 10 days before an election, less than the 25 days now required. But he does not support same-day registration. His aides said it would be too expensive and would be hard to implement because every polling precinct would have to be electronically equipped.
The report looks at three different ways same-day registration could work. New voters could register at local polling sites. They could register at a central location, like a Board of Elections office, and then vote at a polling site. Or they could register and vote at a single central location.
The president of Citizens Union, Dick Dadey, acknowledged that it would be an uphill battle to get approval, but said he was hoping to capitalize on the “reform movement” in Albany.
“Legislators are very reluctant to bring changes to the current system,” he said. “This threatens to upend the political dynamic.”
Mr. Padavan said that was not the case and pointed out that the electoral base in his own district changes from election to election.
“It’s the next big thing in election reform,” Mr. Dadey said. “Voter turnout is terrible in New York.”
According to the report, New York State ranked 46th in the country for voter turnout in the last 2004 presidential election, one of the most contentious in decades. That may have been because it seemed clear that the state was going to go to Senator Kerry.
Six states – Idaho, Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, and Wyoming – have already implemented Election Day registration.