Same Day Registration
Full title: An Act establishing same day registration of voters (H.834 / S.505)
Lead sponsors: Rep. Carmine Gentile; Sen. Cindy Creem
Committee: Joint Committee on Election Laws
The Issue
Our democracy is strongest when everyone can participate, but MA still puts up unnecessary barriers to participation. One noteworthy example: our ten-day registration cutoff.
Given that the average American moves more than 11 times over the course of their lives, moving near Election Day could lead to disenfranchisement under the current system. Likewise, given the stress of school, work, family, and myriad other commitments, many voters may first start to learn about an election after the registration window has passed.
Moreover, if clerical errors exist on the voter rolls, voters can fill out a provisional ballot, but voters leave unsure if their vote will be counted. No one should ever lose basic rights due to clerical errors.
The Solution
These bills would eliminate our 10-day voter registration and enable voters to register or update their registration at the polls on Election Day and during the early voting period. 23 states and DC have already adopted this common sense reform, including our neighbors in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Connecticut.
Contact Your Legislators
Look up your legislators here.
As democracy is under attack, it’s so important that MA strengthen our democracy and eliminate unnecessary barriers to participation.
Massachusetts’s 10-day registration cutoff, for example, denies thousands of eligible voters the right to vote. It is arbitrary, unjust, and unnecessary, and our neighbors in Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Vermont have already done away with their voter registration deadlines.
I urge you to support legislation bringing Election Day Registration to Massachusetts (H.834 / S.505) and urge House/Senate Leadership to bring it up for a vote this session.
Sincerely,
Same Day Registration will ensure that every eligible voter who shows up at the polls gets counted. Time for MA to join our neighbors and pass it already.
Same Day Registration removes barriers to voting that leaves too many voters behind.
- Tenants facing eviction. Seniors looking to downsize. These moves can happen at any time, including the 10 days before an election. Same Day Registration ensures that this isn’t a barrier to voting.
- No one should be disenfranchised because of a clerical error. Let’s pass Same Day Registration.
- Maine does it. New Hampshire does it. Vermont does it. Connecticut does it. And it’s a success everywhere. So why can’t MA have Same Day Registration?
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Tenants moving to a new apartment after getting priced out or evicted by an unscrupulous landlord. Senior citizens looking to downsize and move into a retirement community. Under MA’s current law, if these moves happen too close to an election date, these people—and countless others like them—could lose their right to vote.
That’s because we have an arbitrary and unjust 10-day voter registration cutoff. And shockingly, we’re an outlier in New England for having a cutoff at all. In Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Connecticut, eligible voters can register to vote or update their registration at the polls. It’s a simple reform (indeed, NH and ME have done it for decades), and it can both boost engagement and improve the efficiency of election administration.
At a time when democracy is under attack, MA should be taking every step we can to strengthen our democracy. That must include Same Day Registration, re-filed again this session by Sen. Cindy Creem and Rep. Carmine Gentile (H.834 / S.505). Let’s show our commitment to democracy and improve the voting experience for everyone.
Read More
- Brennan Center for Justice. Recommendations to Defend America’s Election Infrastructure. New York: Brennan Center for Justice, 2019. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/recommendations-defend-americas-election-infrastructure.
- Carbo, Steven, and Regina Eaton. “Voters Win with Same-Day Registration.” Demos. February 4, 2010. https://www.demos.org/policy-briefs/voters-win-same-day-registration.
- Kennedy, Liz. “Millions to the Polls: Same Day Registration.” Demos. February 28, 2014. https://www.demos.org/policy-briefs/millions-polls-same-day-registration.
- National Conference on State Legislatures. “Same Day Registration.” October 25, 2024. https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/same-day-voter-registration.
- Nonprofit Vote. America Goes to the Polls 2020. Cambridge, MA: Nonprofit Vote, 2021. https://www.nonprofitvote.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/america-goes-polls-2020-7.pdf.
- Rapaport, Miles. “Election Reforms Really Mattered in 2018.” The American Prospect. March 21, 2019. https://prospect.org/power/election-reforms-really-mattered-2018/.
- Root, Danielle and Liz Kennedy. “Increasing Voter Participation in America: Policies to Drive Participation and Make Voting More Convenient.” Center for American Progress. July 11, 2018. https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/democracy/reports/2018/07/11/453319/increasing-voter-participation-america/.
- US Government Accountability Office. Issues Related to Registering Voters and Administering Elections. Washington, DC: GAO, 2016. https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-16-630.
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