Radio coverage of yesterday’s committee vote on same-day voter registration has me worried about low quality voters. We may be about to open the floodgates.
Opponents of electon-day voter registration heard on the air warned about two classes of undesirable voters who will now mess up elections.
First: People Who Don’t Plan Ahead. These people are not taking voting seriously, according to the sound bite on the airwaves. The argument was made by a state representative who said he tells his community college classes that voting should not be a last minute whim. You have to think about it–and about whether you registered before you moved across town or since you moved. People who can’t get registered on time also probably have messy desks, or procrastinate on their college assignments. They should not vote for President until they shape up.
Second: Libby Jacobs warned about serial voters, roaming the polls on election day, registering and voting here, there, everywhere until they get dizzy. The radio report failed to explain how these voting addicts would get the various id cards the bill requires for same day registration, but we know there are ways! Illegal aliens probably already have a leg up on this skill, so that’s even more reason to worry.
I wonder how Maine, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Montana and the other same day registration states have dealt with these Undesirable Voters.
1 Comment
That's ridiculous
This is exactly what we’ve been worried about – wild and baseless skepticism getting into the debate over same-day voter registration that could distract people from the real benefits of it.
First: People who don’t take voting seriously aren’t going to vote in the first place. They’re not going to spend 30 minutes taking the time to drive down to their polling place, fill out all the same-day registration forms, and then vote for people they don’t care about. Also, there’s the whole fact that American citizens have the right to vote, period. But if they have messy desks or procrastinate they shouldn’t have the same opportunities to vote? Come on.
Second: Libby Jacobs is way, way off the mark talking about “serial voters.” It’s a completely made up term for people who do not exist. No one, and I mean no one, wanders around on voting day just casting votes in different places. Even if they somehow did manage to fool countless election officials, why on earth would they even want to try when voter fraud carries a huge fine and possibly years in jail??? When I talked with county auditors who were working on same-day registration, they told us that in Wisconsin, there has not been a single issue of voter fraud. Not one. Why? Because no one is stupid enough to risk huge fines and a prison sentence just to get one or two extra votes for their candidate.
So to answer your question: Maine, Minnesota, Wisonsin, and Montana haven’t had to deal with “undesirable voters” because they simply do not exist.
patrick Sat 3 Mar 3:13 PM