Can I have voter registration number 666 please?

How about a national holiday for election day?

Probably un-Constitutional.

I believe the Constitution specifies that each State is to determine how it's electors are chosen:

Article II

Section 1. The executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his office during the term of four years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same term, be elected, as follows:

Each state shall appoint, in such manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or person holding an office of trust or profit under the United States, shall be appointed an elector.

The Constitution: The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators.

The Constitution allows the Congress to set in place a system for choosing Senators and Representatives; such a system could be put in place for registration and for those elections. Could states choose to have a second system, paid for by the state, for Electors and all state offices? Sure they could; it would be an obvious waste of tax dollars, but they could.

Dear Hilzoy... first ... I just love your commentaries.. u are a smartie.... :)

Back to your post... I live in Canada and here Elections Canada handles our voter registrations quite competently. I coincidentally just wrote a post about your registration system's absurdities on Al Giordano's site The Field. From here in Canada... America.. the supposed leader of democracy looks like a 3rd world nation which urgently needs UN election monitors. Your suggestion on de-politicizing voter registrations is a total no-brainer. But given the unraveling of your country even no-brainers seem to be improbable to resolve.

I hope your suggestion is embraced by your new government. Like many interested in global affairs I am really rooting for a new America... I used to like your country a lot but with the Bush years and all the corruption and ignorance within your Federal government I was both repulsed and disappointed that this is what could happen to the world's leading democracy.... We all know you can't go back but you certainly can go forward in such a manner that delights both your nation and its old supporters. America all the best.. I know you got it in you to be a marvel again.

NATIONAL ID CARD.

the solution to so many problems.

The GOP has no interest in resolving this or any other critical social or political issue. It is the fight they are interested in. These "wedge" issues is what keeps the party viable and which distinctly identifies the 'us'' and 'thems'.

Their only honest issue is taxation and they happen to be wrong on that too.

The solution is to take the job of voter registration for federal elections out of the hands of third parties (and out of the hands of the counties and states) and give it to the federal government.

Um, wait, no. I'd like to pass. Like many things in our federal (small-f) architecture, this one accepts inefficiency in order to guard against sweeping and uncheckable abuse. Or to put it another way: Yes, it's possible that locals here or there might rig the system. But it's a lot easier to detect when it would have to be coordinated across 50 individual systems, as compared to having to rig just one.

People understand that a monoculture is bad in farming. Why should it be any better in government?

Lame analogy. Set up an all mail-in system like Oregon. How would you rig that? Setting up an honest and transparent electoral system isn't rocket science. And it's not farming either...

I agree that voter registration is best managed not by third parties, but I must deviate a bit by giving the nod to local government instead of federal government. County registrar staffing should be beefed up to do the work that is presently outsourced to third parties like ACORN (however well meaning or well organized).

At the county level, a person's voter registration can be matched with other county/state documents to ensure that there are no confusing name variations (no missing middle initials, etc. that would be the petty foundation of a vote challenge.)

Local elections occur more frequently than federal elections, so this would have a greater return on investment of local government costs. And, since local government staff are paid on a monthly salary or wage instead of by the completed sheet of names as many third party organizations are paid, there is no incentive to add phony/silly names to the voter registration sheets (M. Mouse, anyone?).

The only third party that I would say would be the exception to this proposal of mine would be an extremely objective organization with a proven lack of conflict of interest regarding the number of new registrations like The League of Women Voters. They have a decades old track record of objective voter registration.

If the two basic parties of this country really care about the registration process for citizen voters, then the money will have to go where the mouth is to make it happen.

I agree with ThatGuy. You are letting yourself get distracted by reality. There is no reality to the claims of the Republicans. They actually have no idea if there is a problem with voter registration or not. It's not like they did a lot of research and discovered this problem. They seek a benefit by raising a fuss about it. They hope to gain cover for their efforts to suppress Democratic voters.

Nice and neat categories for all but the paranoid who don't trust that one day a fascist thug would use such information unjustly. We could also use DNA from birth which automatically registers you for voting when you're of age...just sign your address card at time of voting aand wear this mark so we always know where you are.

It's all become so complicated...I've always depended on the kindness of strangers and government workers..I....

I like it better when I know the government is us and not alien "feds"..til then excuse me my paranoia.

Let's all have a whole week for voting so we have time to straighten out any discrepancies. We could go alphabetically with the last two days for those who had changes to do.

Why try to cram it all into one day.

Somebody gag Boehner. Republicans concentrate on upsetting the vote in order to cheat as much as they can.

"For Republicans serious about ballot integrity..."

It's giving them too much credit to imply this is more than a tiny group. Worries about ballot integrity are just an excuse for vote-suppression campaigns, as we have seen with Acorn this time out.

As a foreigner who has lived and worked in the US, and who was present for three seminal elections since the late 70's, and whos final examination in Pol.Sci comparing electoral systems around the world is still used as an example of a perfect written exam for new students:

The bass-ackwards way in which the entire process is managed in most states in the U.S. is completely incomprehensible -- unless you consider the possibility that the point is to keep people from voting ...

About time this is reformed in its entirety.

And the fact that Americans aren't out in the streets throwing bricks through election office windows in outrage over electronic voting without paper trails will always mystify me.

If the politicians won't do anything about it, maybe Oprah Winfrey will, now that she went to advance vote, and managed to turn in her ballot with Obama unchecked because of the machine's "inadequate response configuration."

The GOP wouldn't be able to win an election for dog catcher without cheating. Now that the American electorate has (presumably) irrefutable evidence of how absolutely clueless the GOP is when it comes to government, national finances and waging wars -- let's get a voting system that has them win on merits, and not on Rovian gaming of the system.

My only concern here is the potential for politicizing the Census Bureau. A single individual could "misplace" thousands of forms, and the victims would know nothing until the day they showed up at a precinct only to discover that they "weren't on the list."

Another possibility is that an administration capable of losing millions of emails at the drop of a hat could likewise lose millions of voter registrations---even once they've been successfully put into the system. Redundancy at the local level could become so overwhelmed by such deletions that they couldn't keep up with verifications---and the politicization of that redundancy itself becomes an issue.

Placing absolute power over the voting process in the hands of the bureaucracy, if that bureaucracy is corrupt, is to risk a political metamorphosis; a gradual changing of the guard from our present system to a modern-day, rubber-stamp American Politburo of massive proportions. Imagine such a beast, combined with the manipulative wealth of Wall Street and the ubermenschen mentalities of a wholly-corrupt political party and the raw hate of religious xenophobia.

Think "politicized Inquisition" here....

A 'lifetime' voter ID nuymber?

One more alluring database for identity thieves to pilfer.

Frankly, would much rather go the other way, and have more numerous, but less populous, registration facilities. Like the local post office, which can verify an address as legitimate, and which provides local regsitration data to three separate supra-administering agencies: county, state and federal.

Also, if we're that married to the arbitrary traiditon the finality of an election being a Tuesday, then a longer opening of polling places (say, 4 days or up at a week prior to the Tuesday) would ease the crunch of accommodating a large populace, all precinct data to be kept under seal (and for magnetically- or digitally-encoded data, in appropriately hardened storage) by the state entity until the last vote is cast upon closing on Tuesday.

The imperative of the TV to announce a 'winner' before bedtime on the East Coast on Tuesday be damned. That as a driving force for speed over diligence and accuracy should be the first thing to be jettisoned.

Release all the results from all time zones simultaneously on an agreed-upon day soon after that Tuesday.

Anyone that has followed the "vote fraud" issue over the last decade could tell you that the GOP has used this issue to successfully purge voter rolls of 100's of thousands of legitimate voters. They have taken it so far as to fire prosecutors that failed to pursue their bogus claims in a scandal that is still ongoing. And, the issue has been used to distract the media from the genuine vote fraud perpetuated by their supporters in the voting machine industry.

Don't blame this crap on the Democratic party. This isn't a case of both sides are guilty. For every snowbird double vote there are a thousand who had their right to vote stolen from them.

Yeah, it's a great idea--until you get another completely politicized administration, such as Bush il Jong II. Then you'd have federally mandated voter suppression. That sure would be nice!

This might be a good idea for the 2020 Census. But speaking as one who's been there, it's a bit late in the game for grafting a major new operation onto this one. Especially given their well-publicized problems, they're going to have their hands full with their existing responsibilities.

most households receive and respond to the Census by mail. it is anonymous, no names or personal identification is required. not quite what is required for voter registration.
also the Bush administration has been terrible about getting funding and process in order for the 2010 Census.

For Republicans, perennial concerns about voter fraud are a feature not a bug.

I would be the last person to deny that our system needs a radical overhaul; from the process of nomination to the 'debates' to the idiocy of unverifiable electronic voting machines, long lines, no run off balloting, et cetera.

I just do not see how registration itself gets to be such a huge problem. You only need to do it once, unless you move. I get a town census form every year which lists my registration and precinct (albeit my town only has one). Don't other towns know who lives within their boundaries? It seems that most of the 'problems' that we see currently are the result of people registering so soon before an election, and I don't understand why this is necessary. If registration ended a few months prior, the lists could be made public, then anyone could contest their status. We could preserve the provisional ballot system for any who fall through the cracks.

Admiration and outrage. I have unbounded admiration of those who, in early voting this year,
have stood in line for 3, 6, or up to 10 hours in order to exercise their right to vote. They, and those who may have similar waits in the general election, demonstrate true dedication to democracy in America.

But such extreme waits are an outrage. How many are discouraged from voting by long lines, or physically unable to endure them? Here we are, supposedly the greatest democracy in the world,
placing unnecessary impediments to the exercise of the basic right of voting.

Cannot the country of the internet, google, military might, and innovation figure out how to make it easy to vote? Certainly, some of the problems come from political misfeasance, but most of them stem from indifference, inefficiency, an insufficient funding. We can employ more innovative techniques such as mail voting, internet voting, and weekend election days. But the least we can do, and must do, is provide the funds, trained personnel, and number and variety of polling locations to provide our citizens a reasonable way to exercise the basic right to vote.

homer www.altara.blogspot.com

I like the idea in principal, the big but is this is also a national identity card issue. Do liberals embrace a republican idea on this one?

Democrats talk about wanting to expand the franchise, and there's no better way to do it

Gam, match, set... tHAT ends any interest by the GOP in what will no doubt be seen as "a power grab; a MASSIVE expansion of government bureaucracy!"

Hilzoy

You are trying to solve a "problem." How like a liberal.

The fact is the Republicans don't want the "problem" solved. They want to discourage properly registered Democrats from going to the polls. Voter Suppression is a tool to a larger goal, not a real problem.

The Republican party doesn't have real concerns over ineligible people voting. They've tried to prove it for decades. They wasted DOJ's time investigating it, and fired a bunch of their own US attorneys when they wouldn't prosecute phony cases. And after years of this nonsense they came up with nada. It's just a con job used to justify their voter suppression efforts.

BTW registering 18 year old high school seniors gives Republicans incentives to further gut public school funding.

Sound cynical? Why in the world would you give any of these clowns the benefit of the doubt when it comes to acting in good faith?

1. completely agree with several posters that this is a nothingburger ginned up by rethugs as the usual accuse-your-opponents-of-the-evil-you-are-doing crapola (which the dem'rats NEVER call them out on)...
2. so-called 'voter fraud' is nearly non-existent, it is the convenient cover for -mostly- rethug election fraud (see coup 2000 & coup 2004)...
3. as presently constituted, ANY computer-based voting system -and ESPECIALLY non-auditable DRE machines- ARE vulnerable AND highly suspect...
4. solutions you will NOT see from mainstream media pukes and kongresskritters:
PAPER BALLOTS
HAND COUNTED
LOCALLY REPORTED
INSTANT RUNOFF VOTING
5. the 'database errors'/etc in rejecting valid voters, are NOT the result of sloppiness and such, IT IS PURPOSEFUL; ANY politician, pundit, or blogginghead who sits there scratching there head saying 'geez, how could the be so incompetent?'... they can't, they aren't, they weren't: their broad spectrum election fraud tactics depend on confusion and APPARENT incompetence which is TOTALLY PURPOSEFUL...
they don't use broad, catchall name-matching criteria when comparing state voter lists to nationwide felon lists in order to make sure that no felon not deserving to vote gets 'caught'; they do that PRECISELY BECAUSE they know it will produce a HUGE NUMBER of false selections and invalid names/people who will be scrubbed from the voter rolls...
6. there are only a handful of politicians who REALLY want universal voter registration, restoring voting rights to felons, and otherwise encouraging voting reforms to increase participation...
BOTH divisions of the Korporate Money Party WANT suppressed citizen participation, whether voting or speaking up... pesky citizens have no bidness trying to influence their bidness of amerika...
7. after coup 2000 when the flawed electoral system was exposed (but not the election theft), kongresskritters/etc did NOTHING to reform what is nearly unanimously agreed upon as an archaic system which thwarts the will of the people...
they did nothing... they will do nothing (except pass feelgood bills like HAVA which make the voting problems WORSE) to really reform our fatally flawed voting systems, nor increase voter registration and turnout...
it is to their benefit to have a disengaged citizenry...

art guerrilla
aka ann archy

eof

Problem with this proposal is that the Bushies showed how much the supposedly non-partisan parts of the gov't could be perverted to act in a partisan manner.

It's still a good idea but don't think for a NY minute that this fixes the problems.

My solution: pass a Constitutional amendment establishing an affirmative right to vote in elections for Federal office, for every American citizen 18+ who's not incarcerated.

Then let the states figure out how to implement it.

Given that persons deprived of that right would be able to sue, the states would have plenty of incentive to comply.

Spencer Overton gives a very good argument for checks and balances between federal and more local control of elections. The main problem with the registration issue is the privatization of voter registration databases to companies like E S & S, as is the case here in New Mexico. No one seems to know what is being done to the database, and no one seems to be interested enough to find out. My name was removed from the E S & S managed database for the Democratic Presidential Preference Caucus in February, and I've heard no real explanation for it.

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Here's an easier way:

When you file your 1040 you get a voter ID that's entered into a federal database; any dependent turning 18 before November also gets an ID.
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Hats off to Hilzoy for bringing out the very core problem. Here, no way, no how, at any time would the mainstream media put together a collection of ideas that formed a huge clear picture of what is wrong in our on going daily structure in America. Actually, for me, it is clear the media has deliberately suppressed and avoided many of these ideals too, too, much.

“�Government employees would not have an incentive to pad registration lists with additional people in order to keep their jobs.��

Imagine the millions of subcontracting firms that are corrupt and collecting tax dollars from the government. Of course with an economy like that a huge shift in wealth will transpire. Only when Obama sits in the drivers, or shall we say the deciders seat will America find out. This is the terror the Neo-Con Republican Party is affaid of.

This is funny, and so, so true, and this displays a serious flaw in our system not only the government cronies, but Mainstream Media cronies, free money market cronies, education cronies, non-profit philanthropy cronies, and the best of best religious cronies.

What in the hell am I talking about. Some of this article connected to the wide spread ideal that is partiality connected to long-standing friends, especially by appointing them to positions of authority, regardless of their qualifications. Sarah Palin, as the defacto of a new definition, Republican standard in the current election game. Here, this crony stuff is screaming at America in the face on wide screen high definition TV. Is she qualified or isn’t she. In the calculus as our definition draws closer to zero hour, finally many are drawing the conclusion Sarah Palin is not anywhere near qualified to transit into the presidency, which is highly important considering McCains age. Many are holding very dear respect for some who say they are True Conservatives, Governor Arnold not being one of them, coming forward to condemn Palin’s choice, or at least say she is not ready yet.

Cronyism exists when the appointer and the beneficiary are in social contact; often, the “�appointer is inadequate to hold his or her own job or position of authority and for this reason the appointer appoints individuals who will not try to weaken him or her��, or express views contrary to those of the appointer. Politically, "cronyism" is derogatorily used. I was pretty tough on Palin to call her a jerk one time, but now, considering the controversy involved, my assumption needs adjustment.

McCain is the jerk, and the Neo-Con Republican Party, for picking her. Across the spectrum of political cronies, all especially die hard types too numerous to mention, including hate radio types like Hannity, Limbaugh and Levin to Savage that are Journalistic corrosion. But here, is what Obama describes as the Neo-Cons that hijacked the Real Conservative Label. Just by many of the stump speeches Sarah Palin has made, she is no way, no how a True Conservative.

The examples are wide open in your face. Let’s include maverick plumbers, here McCain supports in wide open declarations with a smile, knowingly knows Joe does not have a business license, please don’t give me the inverted crap Joe will work for someone who has a license. This plumber type will cut corners when no one is looking, and not work toward public code is an intrinsic problem, especially when the term “Insured and bonded “is the foundation of this vocation. That’s why companies have quality control departments. Here, in a huge sense, as an elected official no matter what the back ground the American electorate have the capability to change the system by putting an individual that jumps across the system and deepens the chaos and rot. Here, the Republican supporter is really duped, or they have way too shallow minds that boarder on building a fence of division rather than good faith agreements.

In a very funny way, but accurately correct, Here, lets put a good laugh on the system and bridge this to, yes ladies and gentlemen the great American family society of cronies. In this case the rot of the middle class that has transpired because Media expressionism through time with a high definition of bias and smooth double talk to confuse the electorate to keep power for the rich Jekyll Island bankers took place in your face.

Here, for years the Mainstream Media which is licensed by you and me through the government to watch our backs has over the decades slowly stuck it to us, here, the media are the modern political propaganda plumbers, with slip stream skill in contextual acrobatic Journalism amazingly having a license to help America yet continues to blame the electorate, and give the rich Jekyll Island banking system free tax dollars.

The media has knowingly suppressed the very personal links of the Bush family to the Bin Laden, here, making claim to a young candidate Barak Obama, as being a terrorist or a communist, who has not lived nor worked long enough to be embedded as the likes of McCain or any other long time candidate. Is blamed to be anti-American. But ironically, the Arabs are the widely acclaimed corrupt, premier financers of the very terror problem America is infested with here and in the world stage. This family relationship the Bush family has, has profiteered for decades yet buried in the political game by the powerful media deliberately with direction to deceive the electorate.

Even McCain loudly proclaims we give money to people who do not like us. Isn’t it curious anyone, but no one ever asked McCain who are those people that don’t like us? Who are those people that America gives billions perhaps trillions of money?

Who are those guys???

Bush’s best friends, thats who.

Hilzoy,
This idea seems to address the ability of the Republican guard to criticize voter registration as fraudulent. It does need to be red-teamed to work out how the same GOP folks would use it to suppress the vote.
The easier you make it to register, the easier it is for RoveCo to re-register you somewhere else (fraudulently, without being caught) and then deny your right to vote on the day.
Compromise will likely dilute the measures as usual.
To address voter suppression efforts, you need to put large penalties in place and a requirement that the enforcing authority act within days not weeks so the GOP can no longer just run out the clock.

In Oz we've had the federal Australian Electoral Commission manage all of our elections since Adam was a little tacker. At 18 you register, and before each election the AEC sends a letter to every household listing the registered voters and asks for confirmation/change. Of course, we also have mandatory voting, (it's a responsibility as much as it's a right) but youse don't have to go that far perhaps.

All of our elections, federal, state and local (even Unions) are handled by the AEC. No political appointments - all public servants. On election day, paid volunteers handle the electoral process. Counting (of paper ballots) is handled by these volunteers, but scrutineers from any of the local candidates can oversee the process, if necessary challenging individual ballots.

You rock on up to the polling booth (which has been adverised locally), state your name, get crossed off after saying you've not previously voted that day, pick up yer ballot, mark it with a pencil (preferential balloting for house of Reps, preferential proportional for Senate), place it in the appropriate cardboard box and that's about it folks.

If you are anywhere else in the country, even overseas, you go to any of the polling booths and place an absentee vote, that gets forwarded to and processed by the AEC people in your electorate. Or you can do a postal vote beforehand. We even have mobile polling booths to remote areas, to pick up votes from the homeless, and to cater for the troops overseas. In 2 world wars, korea, vietnam, malaya, somalia, iraq, timor, afghanistan etc every voter gets found.

All votes counted locally are reported to the national tally room (the political parties usually have their scrutineers reporting as well) and everything is reported in real time on TV and the web. No fraud, no hassles, no exception.

It's worked for us, and it works well. BTW, the electorates are also defined by the AEC, so there's not much gerrymandering got away with, either.

Oh, and our elections are always on a Saturday, so everyone can get to them. (Yer fined all of $20AUD if you don't).

Honestly, the more I read/hear about your process, the more 3rd-world it seems. Just saying...

Just to elaborate on a couple of points:

1. Compulsory voting means that political parties can NOT ignore any segment of the population without risk. Every adult votes, whether working class, middle class, propertarian or homeless. Ignore too many segments at your peril, as quite a few candidates/parties have found out the hard way.

2. Preferential/proprtional voting (rather than first past the post) also tends to mean that voters can vote strategically, eg by voting 1 Greens and then 2 Labor for example, which means Labor quickly picks up that it must do more in its environmental/equitable policies, yet still usually ends up with the electorate (or maybe the Greens win it, occasionally if the swing is really strong). Keeps everyone on their toes.

3. Here the voting process (federally) is identical, regardless of where you are within the country. No local rules re registration, eleigibility, process etc. A florida 2000 situation is impossible here - even the ballot format is identical.

4. Recounts are all but automatic. No courts involved. Again, Florida 2000 wouldn't happen here.

Not saying we're perfect, but am saying we're fairer.

I'm pretty sure SCOTUS has already established a precedent (whether they wanted to or not) for federal involvement in state election matters. It was called Bush v. Gore. That horrendous, mind-bogglingly bad decision, in which Scalia et al twisted themselves into more positions than Rosemary Woods, ought to be good for something.

So simple.

1) National-level elections are determined by popular vote.

2) Show up, fog a mirror and present some sort of ID to reasonably prove you're 18 and you get a national ballot. (A short ballot for President & Senator)

Registered voters get a 'localized' ballot too. States can handle that part just fine.

3) The only real fraud possible at the national level is somebody voting twice. Thumb dye prevents double voting.

The electoral college is a holdover from the days were the aristocratic class wanted to prevent the common riff-raff out. Keeping it only provides opportunities for gaming the system.

Unfortunately, it seems that both parties want to keep that possibility open.

we already have a unique voter identification number also known as a social secuirity number (now assigned at birth - parents remember you are required to put your childrens' social security number on your 1040 or 1040EZ). It really is called a voter identification number too.

Automatic registration at mom and dad's house with action required only for changes of address (and registration) is normal in, well, all advanced Democracies but one.

Why on Earth would Republicans want to change the system that let them steal two elections?

Why is the answer to every big problem a huge centralized computerized solution?

What you want is a national database to track where everyone lives, where everyone has lived, and where everyone is going to live.

Then you want this database to be accessible by every county election board so they can figure out who can vote and where they live. Then you still have to determine and maintain information about the voter: do they want to vote absentee?

They also need to query the database to determine what precinct ballots will contain for each election. Which overlapping county, city, state and federal districts?

I suggest we wait until we can get a single national way to figure out what the local sales tax is. In my state of Washington, there are over 900 separate tax codes, and the level of granularity is only zip+4, and mapping an address into that set is complicated to do even one at a time. Voters constitute a finer and less stable data point.

Seriously - every time I read an article about broken voting machines in one county, predicted long lines in another, voter registration in another - I and the world ask ouselves - this is the country that holds itself up as the beacon of democracy?

It's a joke - what other first world country has any of these things as a news item or even the slightest issue?

America lead the world in so many fields - but is pretty much in last place in having any confidence about how its elections are run.

Anyone remember Kathleen Harris?

"It addresses everyone's concerns in the best possible way..."

I disagree - how does it address Republican concerns that too many minorities get to vote?

Oh, you mean their stated concerns.