Ideas & Action Blog

New York Sets its Sights on EDR

Posted by Steven Carbo at 5:10 PM on April 22, 2009

New York turns its attention to EDR this week, in hearings addressing a number of election reform proposals. Lawmakers there and elsewhere can champion Same Day Registration as a boon to both voters and election officials. It not only eases voter participation, but sharply reduces the need for provisional voting. Iowa and North Carolina, the newest Same Day Registration states, saw big declines in provisional balloting in the November 2008 presidential election.

Since 2004, states have been required to offer a provisional vote in federal elections to individuals that believe they are duly registered to vote, but whose names could not be found on the voter rolls. Provisional balloting in turn triggers a time-consuming search for proof of prior registration in the hectic days after each election. It's a huge headache for local elections clerks. It is also frustrating for voters, because as Demos has reported, many of these ballots are rejected.

Same Day Registration avoids many of these problems by simply allowing persons to re-register to vote and cast a regular ballot. Voters are grateful for a real chance to vote, and elections officials don't need to process so many provisional ballots.

Provisional balloting data for Iowa and North Carolina in the 2008 presidential election underscores this win-win scenario. Iowa saw a huge drop-off in provisional ballots after Election Day Registration was implemented last year. Provisional votes fell from 14,661 in 2004 to 4,725 last November. And nearly 46,000 Iowans registered and votes on election day.

North Carolina's Same Day Registration is different from Iowa's--on-the-spot registration and voting is available during the North Carolina's early voting period, which closes three days before election day--yet provisional voting dropped off there as well. Almost 40,000 fewer provisional ballots were cast in the much higher turnout 2008 presidential race that the 2006 mid-term elections. And because of Same Day Registration, almost 253,000 North Carolinians got a chance to vote. In fact, SDR helped North Carolina lead the nation in increased turnout since the 2004 presidential election.

Tags: Same Day Registration/Election Day Registration | Voter Registration | Election Administration