You’ve all heard the story. The young couple in Chicago waiting hours to use the city’s new same-day registration system to register to vote and then finally casting their ballot just after 3 a.m. on November 5. What you most likely haven’t heard about are the thousands of Americans in other parts of Illinois, Connecticut, Colorado and nine other states and the District of Columbia that utilized same-day registration with little to no problem on November 4. While same-day registration took some well-publicized legislative and legal hits in Ohio and North Carolina recently, it is working and by many accounts working well in other jurisdictions. In fact, it’s working so well in Montana that the residents overwhelmingly defeated a referendum this November that would have eliminated that state’s election day registration.
During the November 4, election, in Suburban Cook County 3,604 residents used same-day registration during the pilot program this election and according to Clerk David Orr, there were no serious problems. “It worked quite well and certainly proved the need,” said Orr who has long been a champion of same-day registration.
Orr said that the numbers for the state’s pilot of same-day registration were better than he expected and think that may have helped encourage lawmakers to move on legislation this week that makes same-day registration permanent statewide [You can read more about the legislation on the Election Academy’s blog today].
“I think it’s a good thing,” Orr said. “It’s always an adjustment for those of us who run elections, and I know some of my colleagues are worried, but I think it will save money and other than during presidential years, won’t require additional people working at the polls.”
Full Article: electionlineWeekly.