j***@heathcor.mus
2008-11-03 17:53:14 UTC
Why Don't We Have Universal Voter Registration?
Posted by dday, Hullabaloo at 12:29 PM on November 2, 2008.
Universal voter registration is the answer to Republican hissy fits
about so-called "voter fraud."
As the last of the lawsuits against ACORN gets laughed out of court,
and as Republican Secretaries of State grumble about having to
reinstate voters to the rolls, it's clear that, no matter what happens
in the election, this insanity around voter registration and zombie
lies about voter fraud has to stop. Exhibit A is the fact that John
McCain's own head of his "Honest And Open Election Committee" can't
name any evidence of voter fraud.
But Ronald Michaelson, a veteran election administrator and member of
the McCain-Palin Honest and Open Election Committee, said in an
interview that he could not name a single instance in which this had
occurred.
Do we have a documented instance of voting fraud that resulted from a
phony registration form? No, I cant cite one, chapter and verse, he
said [...]
Asked for specifics about the dangers of fake registration, Ben
Porritt, a spokesman for the McCain campaign, provided links to 13
news clips and a 2003 Missouri state auditors report. Eleven of the
cases did not involve registration fraud. Two recounted how felons
appeared to have cast illegal votes under their own names. The lone
example of a forged registration leading to an illegitimate vote comes
from The Wall Street Journals John Fund, who in April 2006 wrote that
a community organizer had improperly registered a noncitizen, and
someone eventually voted in [the noncitizens] name.
Michaelson, who served for 27 years as executive director of the
Illinois Board of Elections, said the sharp exchanges over
registration fraud have undermined voters confidence in the electoral
system.
The fact that so many of these illegal registrations are being made
public raises a perception in the minds of people, he said. Thats
more of a general concern. You dont want to perpetuate the idea that
our election process is lacking integrity.
Asked whether his own party was responsible for fostering that
perception, Michaelson said, Well, it doesnt help. It has captured
the attention of a lot of people. Why do it, then? Maybe its
because theres nothing else to talk about, he said.
Boy, he is part of a committee with the word "honest" in it, isn't he?
This is one of those "problems" that actually has a solution, a very
smart and nonpartisan solution that would be simple to implement and
would eliminate a lot of unnecessary labor. Rick Hasen asks for
America to nationalize voter registration.
The solution is to take the job of voter registration for federal
elections out of the hands of third parties (and out of the hands of
the counties and states) and give it to the federal government. The
Constitution grants Congress wide authority over congressional
elections. The next president should propose legislation to have the
Census Bureau, when it conducts the 2010 census, also register all
eligible voters who wish to be registered for future federal
elections. High-school seniors could be signed up as well so that they
would be registered to vote on their 18th birthday. When people submit
change-of-address cards to the post office, election officials would
also change their registration information.
This change would eliminate most voter registration fraud. Government
employees would not have an incentive to pad registration lists with
additional people in order to keep their jobs. The system would also
eliminate the need for matches between state databases, a problem that
has proved so troublesome because of the bad quality of the data. The
federal government could assign each person a unique
voter-identification number, which would remain the same regardless of
where the voter moves. The unique ID would prevent people from voting
in two jurisdictions, such as snowbirds who might be tempted to vote
in Florida and New York. States would not have to use the system for
their state and local elections, but most would choose to do so
because of the cost savings.
There's something in this for both Democrats and Republicans.
Democrats talk about wanting to expand the franchise, and there's no
better way to do it than the way most mature democracies do it: by
having the government register voters. For Republicans serious about
ballot integrity, this should be a winner as well. No more ACORN
registration drives, and no more concerns about Democratic secretaries
of state not aggressively matching voters enough to motor vehicle
databases.
Finally, universal voter registration is good for the country, not
only because it will make it easier for those who wish to vote to do
so, but because it should end controversy over ballot integrity that
threatens to undermine the legitimacy of our election process. If
President McCain or Obama makes this a priority, we can have the
system ready in time for the president's re-election.
Of course, Republicans aren't serious about ballot integrity, and
their opposition to this would prove it. They just want something to
carp about and undermine confidence in elections. In addition, there's
a credible concern, given how the current government has politicized
the Department of Justice and the General Services Administration,
that giving over voter registration to them might have dangerous
consequences.
But of course, there are Republican Secretaries of State doing that
politicization right now. And wouldn't it be nice to create an
election system where people don't have to turn in a form or remember
to vote at an old precinct if they missed the cutoff, a system
designed to make voting easier instead of harder?
This is but one possible innovation in elections (like expanding early
voting access, making Election Day a weekend or a holiday, instant
runoff voting, a mandate for paper ballots, abolishing the Electoral
College, etc., etc.), but it certainly would help to defuse this
massive hissy fit we hear every four years like clockwork. I'd love to
see Republicans oppose the concept of registering every American to
vote.
Posted by dday, Hullabaloo at 12:29 PM on November 2, 2008.
Universal voter registration is the answer to Republican hissy fits
about so-called "voter fraud."
As the last of the lawsuits against ACORN gets laughed out of court,
and as Republican Secretaries of State grumble about having to
reinstate voters to the rolls, it's clear that, no matter what happens
in the election, this insanity around voter registration and zombie
lies about voter fraud has to stop. Exhibit A is the fact that John
McCain's own head of his "Honest And Open Election Committee" can't
name any evidence of voter fraud.
But Ronald Michaelson, a veteran election administrator and member of
the McCain-Palin Honest and Open Election Committee, said in an
interview that he could not name a single instance in which this had
occurred.
Do we have a documented instance of voting fraud that resulted from a
phony registration form? No, I cant cite one, chapter and verse, he
said [...]
Asked for specifics about the dangers of fake registration, Ben
Porritt, a spokesman for the McCain campaign, provided links to 13
news clips and a 2003 Missouri state auditors report. Eleven of the
cases did not involve registration fraud. Two recounted how felons
appeared to have cast illegal votes under their own names. The lone
example of a forged registration leading to an illegitimate vote comes
from The Wall Street Journals John Fund, who in April 2006 wrote that
a community organizer had improperly registered a noncitizen, and
someone eventually voted in [the noncitizens] name.
Michaelson, who served for 27 years as executive director of the
Illinois Board of Elections, said the sharp exchanges over
registration fraud have undermined voters confidence in the electoral
system.
The fact that so many of these illegal registrations are being made
public raises a perception in the minds of people, he said. Thats
more of a general concern. You dont want to perpetuate the idea that
our election process is lacking integrity.
Asked whether his own party was responsible for fostering that
perception, Michaelson said, Well, it doesnt help. It has captured
the attention of a lot of people. Why do it, then? Maybe its
because theres nothing else to talk about, he said.
Boy, he is part of a committee with the word "honest" in it, isn't he?
This is one of those "problems" that actually has a solution, a very
smart and nonpartisan solution that would be simple to implement and
would eliminate a lot of unnecessary labor. Rick Hasen asks for
America to nationalize voter registration.
The solution is to take the job of voter registration for federal
elections out of the hands of third parties (and out of the hands of
the counties and states) and give it to the federal government. The
Constitution grants Congress wide authority over congressional
elections. The next president should propose legislation to have the
Census Bureau, when it conducts the 2010 census, also register all
eligible voters who wish to be registered for future federal
elections. High-school seniors could be signed up as well so that they
would be registered to vote on their 18th birthday. When people submit
change-of-address cards to the post office, election officials would
also change their registration information.
This change would eliminate most voter registration fraud. Government
employees would not have an incentive to pad registration lists with
additional people in order to keep their jobs. The system would also
eliminate the need for matches between state databases, a problem that
has proved so troublesome because of the bad quality of the data. The
federal government could assign each person a unique
voter-identification number, which would remain the same regardless of
where the voter moves. The unique ID would prevent people from voting
in two jurisdictions, such as snowbirds who might be tempted to vote
in Florida and New York. States would not have to use the system for
their state and local elections, but most would choose to do so
because of the cost savings.
There's something in this for both Democrats and Republicans.
Democrats talk about wanting to expand the franchise, and there's no
better way to do it than the way most mature democracies do it: by
having the government register voters. For Republicans serious about
ballot integrity, this should be a winner as well. No more ACORN
registration drives, and no more concerns about Democratic secretaries
of state not aggressively matching voters enough to motor vehicle
databases.
Finally, universal voter registration is good for the country, not
only because it will make it easier for those who wish to vote to do
so, but because it should end controversy over ballot integrity that
threatens to undermine the legitimacy of our election process. If
President McCain or Obama makes this a priority, we can have the
system ready in time for the president's re-election.
Of course, Republicans aren't serious about ballot integrity, and
their opposition to this would prove it. They just want something to
carp about and undermine confidence in elections. In addition, there's
a credible concern, given how the current government has politicized
the Department of Justice and the General Services Administration,
that giving over voter registration to them might have dangerous
consequences.
But of course, there are Republican Secretaries of State doing that
politicization right now. And wouldn't it be nice to create an
election system where people don't have to turn in a form or remember
to vote at an old precinct if they missed the cutoff, a system
designed to make voting easier instead of harder?
This is but one possible innovation in elections (like expanding early
voting access, making Election Day a weekend or a holiday, instant
runoff voting, a mandate for paper ballots, abolishing the Electoral
College, etc., etc.), but it certainly would help to defuse this
massive hissy fit we hear every four years like clockwork. I'd love to
see Republicans oppose the concept of registering every American to
vote.