Vermont Considering Voter Registration at the Polls
MONTPELIER, Vt. - Every year, U.S. citizens are barred from voting because they missed the registration deadline.
In our area, Vermont sets the deadline to the Wednesday before election day. In New York, it's weeks before. New Hampshire, however, allows voters to register on Election Day.
Some Vermont leaders want to do the same. Secretary of State Jim Condos told lawmakers Friday, Vermont should do away with registration deadlines.
"Right ... moreVermont Considering Voter Registration at the Polls
MONTPELIER, Vt. - Every year, U.S. citizens are barred from voting because they missed the registration deadline.
In our area, Vermont sets the deadline to the Wednesday before election day. In New York, it's weeks before. New Hampshire, however, allows voters to register on Election Day.
Some Vermont leaders want to do the same. Secretary of State Jim Condos told lawmakers Friday, Vermont should do away with registration deadlines.
"Right now, my office has no reasonable answer for why these Vermonters cannot exercise their right granted to them under our constitution," Condos said.
In Montpelier City Hall, clerk John Odum handles voters checklists ballots. Sometimes, he has to tell Vermonters they can't vote because they missed the deadline.
"It's never a happy thing to tell a citizen of this country that they can't participate in the most fundamental privilege they have," Odum said.
A bill being considered by the Senate Government Operations committee would allow "same-day" registration, at the polls on Election Day.
It's not a new idea--Secretary Condos says 14 other states do this, and Vermont has considered it in the past. But town clerks were concerned about the logistics.
Odum, however, says it could fix the system.
"We essentially, functionally have a clunky version of same-day registration," he said.
Odum is referring to a kink in the system, where Vermonters check a box on a DMV form that they'd like to register to vote. The DMV has to hand over those paper forms to the Secretary of State, who then sorts and mails them to each town or city hall. Sometimes, voters don't make it on the checklist in time for Election Day.
In those cases, voters can sign an affidavit at the polling place, swearing they registered to vote. They'll be given a ballot and clerks check the records later.
"Actually formalizing that as same-day registration would allow us to streamline that process," Odum said.
As written, the bill requires a voter bring photo identification to the polls to register same-day. Condos asked lawmakers Friday to remove that, saying it's not the spirit of Vermont law. Currently, citizens who register in Vermont do not need to provide photo identification. They can either provide a license number or the last 4 digits of their social security number.
There are concerns about whether voter fraud would increase, but Condos said he doesn't anticipate a problem.
"The real voter fraud is denying an eligible voter from their constitutional right to cast a ballot," he said.
Admin Nicky › VERMONTon 2015 July 09 at 11:40 PM public