"Same Day Registration" (SDR) allows eligible voters to register and cast a ballot after the close of the official voter registration, in the run-up to each election. "Election Day Registration" (EDR) is a variety of Same Day Registration that allows for registration and voting on Election Day itself.

Nine states and the District of Columbia currently have Same Day Registration. Maine, Minnesota and Wisconsin adopted SDR in the 1970s; Idaho, New Hampshire and Wyoming enacted Same Day Registration two decades later. More recently, Montana implemented SDR in 2006, while Iowa and North Carolina enacted Same Day Registration in 2007. The District of Columbia, the newest SDR jurisdiction, will implement Same Day Registration in the 2010 election cycle. DC and eight of the nine states allow registration and voting on Election Day; North Carolina permits registration and voting during the state's extended early voting period.

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