Election Day voter registration

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In the United States, Election Day voter registration (also known as EDR or same-day voter registration) permits eligible citizens to register and vote on Election Day.

Most U.S. states require voters to register before an election, with various deadlines (such as 30 days or 15 days before an election). Election Day voter registration allows eligible voters to register on election day, usually by showing valid identification to a poll worker, who checks the identification, consults the registration list, and, if they are not registered, registers them on the spot.

Nine states have some form of Election Day voter registration: Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Wyoming and Washington DC. Montana began Election Day voter registration in 2006, North Carolina in 2007, and Iowa in 2008. Connecticut and Rhode Island also have Election Day registration, but only for presidential elections. (North Dakota, unique among the states, has no voter registration requirement at all.)

Newly popular early voting programs sometimes work in concert with Election Day registration. While not allowing registration on Election Day itself (the last day to vote), the states of Ohio and North Carolina offer a period where voters can register and then early vote.^[1]

Under the new system in place in North Carolina, same-day registration occurs three to 19 days before the scheduled election.

Voter turnout is much higher in states using Election Day registration than in states that did not. In the 2004 presidential election, voter turnout in same-day voter registration states was 12 percent higher than states that did not;^[2] in the 2006 midterm elections, states with same-day voter registration had turnout rates 10-12 percent higher than in other states.^[3]

Maine

In June 2011, the Maine legislature passed a law that ended Election Day voter registration, which had been in place since 1973. It also banned absentee voting during the two business days before an election. ^[4]The first measure was the target of a citizen referendum ("people's veto) which was held in November 2011.

Maine voters reinstated Election Day registration with 59% in favor.^[5]

References

^ Analysis: Ohio 5-Day Window Suit
^ January 2005, High 2004 Turnout for States with Election Day Registration Demos
^ January 2007, Voters Win With Election Day Registration Demos
^ June 11 2011,Bill to end same-day registration approved Portland Press Herald
^ August 14, 2011, Citizens rise up in Maine Boston Globe