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ACTION ALERT!

Election Day Registration (S2514)

PLEASE CALL YOUR SENATOR TODAY!

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Vote in Senate expected on Thursday, July 17, 2008 at 1:00 p.m.

This legislation will allow any eligible voters to register and vote at their City or Town Hall on Election Day in national and statewide elections in 2008. (Cities such as Boston, Worcester and Springfield may establish additional same-day voter registration at other polling places.)  In 2010 all EDR would take place at local polling stations.  At the time of registration, the individual must provide proof of identity and residency and must also certify that they are a United States citizen, are at least 18 years of age, and are not disqualified from voting for other stated conditions.

In addition, this legislation will create an advisory committee to review the implementation of Election Day Registration (EDR) to assess its viability and will permanently change the registration deadline from 20 days to 14 days before a general election or primary.

Passage of this bill will:

l  Support increased voter participation.

In 2006 the eight current EDR states had an average 50.9% voter turnout vs. 41.6% in non-EDR states.

l  Allow highly mobile population such as students and young adults, as well as new residents, to vote in greater numbers.

Deadlines to register are often missed by new district residents.

l  Alleviate the problem of registered voters being turned away because of inaccurate or incomplete voter lists.

An MIT/Cal Tech report found that 122,000 registered voters in 2003 were turned away because of registration-based problems.

l  Shift the administrative burden of processing new voter registrations from the busy pre-election season to after Election Day.

The post-election period is a much less hectic time for election officials.

Passage of this bill will not:

l  Increase voter fraud.

Multiple independent studies have found that voter fraud is as low in EDR states as in non- EDR states.

l  Add significant cost to the election process.

Election officials in EDR states report the work of adding newly-registered voters to the rolls has been manageable and relatively inexpensive.

l  Create dramatic shifts in the voting population.

Experience in EDR states indicates +/- 5% increase in registered voters.

The lead sponsor for this bill in the Senate is Cynthia Stone Creem, and it is strongly supported by Senators Augustus, Candaras, Chandler, Downing, Fargo, Gallucio, Jehlen, Joyce, Menard, O'Leary, Petruccelli, Resor, Rosenberg, Spilka, Tucker, and Marzilli. 

 TAKE ACTION NOW:

Please CALL your Senator today  to vote in favor of this very important bill.

Please click here for contact information for your Senator.

For more information contact VP of Program and Action Carole Pelchat cpelchat@lwvma.org