When looking for wisdom in the value of same-day registration, we can look to the 1976 Legislature, who created the option of registering to vote on Election Day. They said, "The vote is the single most critical act in our democratic system of government ... (and) voter registration was not intended to and should not prevent voting." Thank you to Diane Hermann-Brown from the Wisconsin Municipal Clerks Association for sharing that quote in a recent Wisconsin State Journal story. Legislators before the days of billion-dollar campaigns had the right idea: Voting is a Constitutional right and our laws should not stand in the way of that right.
Legislators, unhappy with the outcome of some elections, have set their sights on limiting the rights of certain individuals to have access to vote. Elimination of same-day registration would create an election system where thousands of individuals, otherwise qualified to vote, would be unable to exercise their most basic democratic constitutional right.
In developing countries where democracy is young, an invisible permanent ink marks the hands of those who have voted so they cannot vote again. We have, however, set up a system of recording the verifiable personally identifiable information of those wanting to register to vote. Those who have moved since the last election and those new to voting must first register to vote. This is how we ensure the integrity of our elections. Through honesty and disclosure of accurate information given by voters and collected by our clerks and poll workers, we have a system that works for registration of our voters.
If Wisconsin does not allow for same-day voter registration, we will have to create a new government system to address registration of voters in order to be in compliance with federal law. Other states deputize workers at the Department of Transportation and at the local county health services. Wisconsin would have to create a whole new government system for allowing people to register at many government locations at taxpayer expense. Workers with different jobs would be expected to register voters, while other citizens wait in line for that to happen.
Let's take a page out of the common sense book and not fix something that isn't broken. Same-day registration is working for Wisconsin; let's stick with it.
For more information on voter registration laws, please contact my office at: (608) 266-6670 or (888) 549-0027 or sen.erpenbach@legis.wi.gov.
- Sen. Jon Erpenbach represents Wisconsin's 27th
Senate District
Legislators, unhappy with the outcome of some elections, have set their sights on limiting the rights of certain individuals to have access to vote. Elimination of same-day registration would create an election system where thousands of individuals, otherwise qualified to vote, would be unable to exercise their most basic democratic constitutional right.
In developing countries where democracy is young, an invisible permanent ink marks the hands of those who have voted so they cannot vote again. We have, however, set up a system of recording the verifiable personally identifiable information of those wanting to register to vote. Those who have moved since the last election and those new to voting must first register to vote. This is how we ensure the integrity of our elections. Through honesty and disclosure of accurate information given by voters and collected by our clerks and poll workers, we have a system that works for registration of our voters.
If Wisconsin does not allow for same-day voter registration, we will have to create a new government system to address registration of voters in order to be in compliance with federal law. Other states deputize workers at the Department of Transportation and at the local county health services. Wisconsin would have to create a whole new government system for allowing people to register at many government locations at taxpayer expense. Workers with different jobs would be expected to register voters, while other citizens wait in line for that to happen.
Let's take a page out of the common sense book and not fix something that isn't broken. Same-day registration is working for Wisconsin; let's stick with it.
For more information on voter registration laws, please contact my office at: (608) 266-6670 or (888) 549-0027 or sen.erpenbach@legis.wi.gov.
- Sen. Jon Erpenbach represents Wisconsin's 27th
Senate District
