Advocates for same-day voter registration met at Frazier’s restaurant Friday to pump up support for getting legislation passed. The bill, H.B. 105, if approved would make Delaware the 13th state in the nation to allow eligible voters to register to vote on the day of the election at their polling place. Currently, the registration deadline is 24 days prior to an election. The Central Delaware NAACP said Friday that states with same-day voter registration have a voter turnout around 10 points higher than states that do not.
“What we are trying to do is get rid of this arbitrary deadline which creates an unnecessary hurdle to keep people from voting,” said Kate Atkins of the Delaware Alliance for Community Advancement.
The Central Delaware NAACP also said that nearly 250,000 eligible Delawareans did not vote in the 2012 General Election, which they said can be partially attributed to difficulty in becoming registered.
“Passing H.B. 105 is the right thing to do for the community,” said Ralph Taylor, candidate for the 31st District representative seat. “Same-day registration will bring more people to the table and give more people a voice.”
Full Article: Same-day voter registration supporters push for bill’s passage – Delaware Newszap.