Lawmakers are taking a step they hope will increase voter participation.
By a vote of 20 to 7 Thursday afternoon, the Senate gave preliminary approval to a bill that would allow residents to register to vote on the day of an election. Currently, an individual who wishes to cast a vote on a Tuesday must have registered to vote by the previous Wednesday.
“Those of us in this building spend a lot of time thinking about elections, but most people don’t,” said Sen. Jeanette White, D-Windham. “People move or go into long-term care facilities in a town where they were not originally registered to vote and didn’t get engaged until the last moment. That doesn’t mean they’re uninformed.”
Under the terms of the bill, an individual could show up at a polling place the day of an election and present documentation of residency as required by federal law, such as photo identification or a utility bill. Either the town clerk or members of the municipality’s board of civil authority would review the documentation and, if approved, the individual would be a allowed to vote that day.
Currently, 13 states and Washington, D.C. allow election-day voter registration.
"This is a voter rights issue." - Secretary of State Jim Condos
“This is a voter rights issue,” said Secretary of State James Condos, following the vote. “This is for the benefit of the voter, for the benefit of the citizens to exercise their constitutional right to cast a ballot.”
According to Condos, places that have election-day voter registration have seen their rates of participation rise 10-12 percent since implementation.
Several senators expressed concern that election-day voter registration could lead to voter fraud, including Kevin Mullin, R-Rutland — who voted for the bill — and Dustin Degree, R-Franklin, who did not.
“There are lots of problems with elections with the system we have now,” Degree said. “I think the integrity of our elections is more important than increased participation.”
"I think the integrity of our elections is more important than increased participation." - Sen. Dustin Degree, R-Franklin
White disagreed that the bill could open up the door to more voter fraud.
“There is no more potential for voter fraud than there is under the current system we use now,” White said. “If someone wants to commit fraud now, all they have to do is say they registered when they renewed their driver’s license.”
Condos downplayed the idea that voter fraud is much of an issue at all.
“We have a hard enough time getting people to vote once, never mind voting twice” Condos said “Voter fraud is really nonexistent in this country. There have been many, many accusations, but they usually filter out and there will be a logical reason for what happened.”
The bill is expected to come before the Senate for final approval Friday.
This story was originally published by the Vermont Press Bureau and reprinted under a partnership with the bureau.
