Question 1: Future of Election Day registration to be decided

By Scott Mitchell Johnson
Staff Writer
    In June 2011, the Maine Legislature passed LD 1376, which ended the practice of Election Day registration (EDR), and set a two-day pre-registration requirement for new voters in a municipality. This law also set the same two-day cutoff for the use of absentee ballots.
    However, in September, a “People’s Veto” of LD 1376 was placed on the Nov. 8 ballot, which placed the implementation of LD 1376 on hold, and effectively restored the process of EDR until next week’s vote decides the future of the law.
    Question 1 asks voters, “Do you want to reject the section of Chapter 399 of the Public Laws of 2011 that requires new voters to register to vote at least two business days prior to an election?”
    A “Yes” vote on Question 1 will restore same-day, or Election Day registration.
    “Same-day voter registration has worked for almost 40 years,” said Mark Gray, campaign manager for Protect Maine Voters/Yes on 1. “It’s one of the reasons why Maine leads the country in voter participation.”
    According to protectmainevotes.com, EDR is a convenient way for Mainers to participate in the political process.
    “A lot of people in Maine have to work two or even three jobs to make ends meet, which can make it difficult for them to take time off to go register. Same-day registration makes it possible for many working Mainers to vote. Without same-day registration, these hardworking people could be shut out,” reads the website. “Since Election Day registration was introduced 38 years ago, our state has enjoyed increased voter participation and had trouble-free elections. This has been true in all eight states with Election Day registration. In 2008, Maine had one of the highest voter participation rates in the country. Only Minnesota and Wisconsin had higher participation rates and both states enjoyed Election Day registration.”
    However, according to secureourvotes.com, Election Day registration is “bad for Maine.”
    “EDR leaves our votes vulnerable to fraud and error. Maine’s election system runs on the honor system – there’s no requirement to show photo ID at the polls. When voters register, local clerks have to manually verify the eligibility of the voter. When people register on Election Day, there’s no time to do this check. So all we have to ensure the integrity of our elections is, basically, luck,” the website reads. “That’s not good enough. Mainers deserve to know their votes are secure, and that ineligible voters are not canceling their votes out.”
    The website goes on to refute EDR proponents’ belief that eliminating same-day registration will decrease the number of Mainers who turn out to vote.
    “Studies of voter turnout patterns in Maine show clearly that EDR does not affect the number of voters who participate on Election Day. When Maine implemented EDR in 1972, there was no perceptible change in turnout. In fact, the three lowest turnout years in the last 50 years in Maine all occurred after EDR was implemented.”
    Regardless of how residents vote, eligible Maine residents will be able to register to vote on Election Day this year. Proof of identity and proof of residency, such as a Maine driver’s license or utility bill, is required to register.