The National Voter Registration Act Essay Sample

The right to suffrage is guaranteed by the constitution because it is one of the most basic and important rights, so why does it matter when eligible voters register to vote. Specifically, registering to vote and then voting on the same day. As of 2020 someone could register and vote simultaneously in 22 states: Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming (McNamara). The reason for many why it isn’t 50 is confusing and maddening. The right for everyone to vote has been a milestone in U.S. history, but apparently reform is far from over. Until anybody who is of legal eligibility can vote anytime anywhere may the fight for suffrage, and reform, be over. It is crucial that all of America’s voting population be heard through elections, otherwise the system needs fixing. Saying that the system is broken is just a stretch in this argument, but certainly there are some kinks that need to be straightened out.

The process of voting is simple, or at least it should be. If someone is eligible to vote, meaning they are of age, a citizen of the U.S. and fit the residency requirements of his/her state, then they may register to become a voter. In most states, an eligible voter must register at least 2-4 weeks before a said election, whether it be a local or federal election. This is sort of a two step verification process to ensure the security of a just voting system (Friedmann). To register all someone needs to do is show proof of identification most commonly with a driver's license. If someone is not in possession of such identification there are alternative ways to prove your identity varying from state to state. For example, Minnesotans may present their passport, social security card, or tribal identification card (Minnesota Statutes 2021). Minnesota, too, is one of the states that currently allow same-day voter registration. Only states have the power to allow this. States' powers include things like maintaining militia, establishing a local government, providing public safety, health, and welfare, ratifying constitutional amendments, regulating interstate commerce, and conducting elections. While the federal powers include coining money, regulating the mail, regulating interstate and foreign commerce, declaring war, raising armies, establishing inferior courts, establishing rules of naturalization, and conducting foreign affairs. Together, the states and federal governments share the power of taxation, lawmaking and enforcement, chartering banks and corporations, taking land for public use (eminent domain), establishing courts, and borrowing money (Khan Academy). Out of all those powers, the power to conduct elections is the one most important to this reform, which the state has jurisdiction over. This means it is up to the states to choose whether or not they reform same-day voting/ voter registration. Making this legal in all 50 states is a trending and very achievable movement. As of 2015, thirteen states participated in same-day voter registration (Green, Mach). Since then nine states have also legalized same-day voter registration. If three states legalize same-day voter registration all of the U.S. will be covered by the year 2040. This is a simple attainable change in the way our U.S. political participation system functions. 

The impact of this reform could be huge. Using data from the United States Election Project, in 2014, a map was created to show the voter turnout of the voting-eligible population from all 50 states. The states with the highest voter turnout, relative to their population, consisted largely of the states who had legalized same-day voter registration, the highest voter turnout being 58.5% in Maine and the lowest being Texas at 28.3% (Green, Mach). This data shows that voter turnout is positively affected by same-day voter turnout. The lowest voter turnout percentage among states who have same-day registration was 39.3%. Compared to the rest of the states there were twenty with a lower voter turnout. Lastly, seven of the ten highest voter turnout percent were same-day registration states. In Maine, a state that has legalized same-day voter registration, Sarah Walton of the League of Women Voters of Maine association said the same-day registration policy “provides important safeguards for elections, helps to increase voter participation and makes sure that every eligible voter has an opportunity to participate.”(Mach, Green). The former Mayor Tom Barrett of Milwaukee, Wisconsin agrees with Sarah, saying this in reference to same-day voter registration:  “one of the major reasons that Wisconsin has among the highest democratic participation in the nation.” Another research project done by college students at the University of Wisconsin Madison, in 2009, concluded that same day voter registration increased voter turnout “As expected, turnout is higher in counties with more African Americans, higher incomes, more college graduates, smaller and less dense populations, and where the McCain-Obama campaign was close.” (Burden, Canon, Mayer, Moynihan). In specific the study found that turnout increased by 3.5 to 5.6 percent. This study shows two things. First, in poorer communities it is harder to register ahead of the 2-4 week deadline. For the most part this is because poorer people have trouble finding proper identification, transportation to a place where they could get verified to vote. In 1993, The National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) and The Voter Motor Act (VMA)was enacted by Bill Clinton to help people under these conditions. Two things the act, NVRA, did was require states to offer a simplified voter registration process anytime someone applied for or renewed a driver's license, in addition, the states were required to mail election material of a state as if the state were a nonprofit (United States Department of Justice). The VMA was the act that helped citizens without transportation get transportation to get registered or vote if needed. The second point made by the Wisconsin college study was that voter turnout is and has been greater in swing states where either political party could win an election. The states that swing change over time but in the last ten or so years the swing states have included Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin. Since the year 2000, thirty-eight out of the fifty states have voted for the same political party in the presidential election (Rotondi). More than less of the time presidential elections are decided by these swing states. Candidates always make it a goal to win as many swing states as possible, and reportedly spend three-quarters of their budget on advertising and touring there (Rotondi). This means that every vote counts in these battleground states. Historically, elections in swing states have been close where one candidate wins by a mere one or two percent. The race between Richard M. Nixon and John F. Kennedy, in 1960, was decided by two percent or less in ten different states (Rotondi). In the presidential race between George W. Bush and Frank Gore, the election was decided in Florida where Bush won by 537 votes. That is a tiny margin, which emphasizes why it’s so important that everyone’s voice may be heard. In 1948, the race between Harry Truman and Thomas Dewey was so close that the Chicago Daily Tribune thought Dewey won and printed the next day's newspaper with “DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN” on the front page. Now, there is a famous picture of Harry Truman holding up the paper as he celebrates his victory. Because of races that become too close to call, someone who hadn’t registered to vote, who isn’t able to cast a ballot, will lose the race for his or her party, which is why people say “Every vote counts”.

When will it happen? When will all of America be able to register and vote on the same day? Studies have proven that same-day registration encourages citizens to participate in their democracy and exercise their right to suffrage, and democracy is run for the people by the people. For that reason, it is confusing why reform is even necessary. This issue should have been figured out by now. Every election gives America the ample opportunity to represent the people's will, but when roadblocks like voter registration impede one’s political participation the results of said elections only stray further from what could have happened.