Today, voting rights in America – and therefore, our civil rights – stand at a critical crossroads. As we await reauthorization by Congress of the Voting Rights Act, state legislatures across the country have rolled back critical voting rights provisions. Sadly, too many of today’s battles elicit a sense of déjà vu, harkening back to Civil Rights struggles that many of us believed that our nation had fought and moved past. In this troubling climate, I am proud to say Delaware is a bright spot: State Sen. Margaret Rose Henry is planning to introduce a new voting rights bill that will make it easier for all Delawareans to participate in our great democracy.
Same-day registration is a pro-voter reform that allows eligible residents to register for the first time or update their address on Election Day and then cast a ballot. This provision in effect extends Delaware’s voter registration period, which by current law ends over three weeks ahead of any primary or general election, making it impossible to register during the period in which election experts find that voters are the most engaged. Nearly one-third of the country plus the District of Columbia have already adopted this one‑stop process. In fact, Delaware nearly passed its own measure last year.
While it is imperative that advocates push to preserve the voting practices that have for years guaranteed access to the ballot box for so many Americans, we must also champion measures like same day registration that serve to upgrade and increase electoral access. Same day registration serves as a counterbalance to current anti‑voter efforts, and speaks directly to the types of transformative measures that today’s voting rights efforts demand.
Full Article: Same-day voter registration will transform Delaware.