Same-day registration: Increasing access or inviting fraud?

Welcome to The Independent Forum. Every week we ask a different question and solicit responses from a diverse group of New Mexico thinkers, pundits and other observers of the state’s political landscape. We’ll add more responses as they come in, so keep checking back to see how the conversation progresses.

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This week let’s talk about voter registration. Nine states allow voters to register and vote on the same day; Here in New Mexico, two bills working through the Legislature would allow same-day registration at
early voting sites. The New Mexico County Clerks Affiliate has endorsed the bills, as have several independent groups. But many Republicans believe it will lead to voter fraud. What do you think?

QUESTION: “Should New Mexico allow eligible voters to register at early
voting sites and vote the same day?”

TERRI COLE, president and CEO, Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce:

Absolutely. Our Chamber hasn’t weighed in on this one, but I like the idea of making registering and voting easier things to do. We must be sure that we have crossed our t’s and dotted our i’s. We don’t want a reckless approach to the implementation of this idea. Surely, we can pull this off in a sensible way with appropriate accountability. Some things seem to me to be “rocket science.”  This does not fall into that category.  If we can increase the voting public for all elections, we will all be better for it.

JIM BACA, blogger, former director of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Albuquerque mayor, state land commissioner and recently retired natural resources trustee:

Paranoia runs deep. Or so the old song goes from Buffalo Springfield. Was it written for the Republican Party and its neurosis over same day voter registration? Well, not really but the GOP really hates the idea of making it convenient for American citizens to vote. They feel that massive fraud will occur. They have faith that the Democrats are well organized enough to pull of a fraud on that grand a scale. They can’t.

That is where the paranoia comes in. Even the former republican U.S. Attorney David Iglesias couldn’t be convinced there was mass Democratic voter fraud being practiced and he refused to pursue cases for the local Republicans in New Mexico. So naturally he was fired by Bush after phone calls from GOP enforcer Pat Rodgers, Senator Domenici and Congresswoman Wilson.

All joking aside, same day voter registration is something that should be enacted into law. Today’s Internet and communications systems could easily ferret out fraud as it takes place. People might not want to fool around with that since there would likely be prison terms waiting for them.

Now I will say something out of character. I think if same day registration and voting is allowed then proper identification should be on hand. And I don’t mean a water bill, but rather a real license like a driver’s license or state ID card. Maybe that could be a compromise position for the GOP. A fair trade: same day registration for a new law requiring ID.

PAUL GESSING, president of the Rio Grande Foundation:

I am opposed to same day voter registration. Voting is extremely important and should not be taken lightly. Having to register ahead of time is simply not an undue burden to place on prospective voters. Even if it were indeed possible to insure that same-day registrants
are not fraudulent — a proposition that seems dubious at best at present — I think it is unwise for our republican form of government to allow citizens who didn’t have the slightest interest in voting prior to Election Day to register and vote that very same day.

BILL TURNER, hydrologist and former director of the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District:

We have struggled at the MRGCD with the same question. In today’s electronic age a person can register and vote at the same time on ballots that are printed on site. His vote is registered on a database and he will be unable to vote again in the same election. So, this reduces the voter fraud issue and makes the polls more accessible. The voter must bring a
government issued photo ID (valid passport, drivers ID).

CAROL WIGHT, executive director, New Mexico Restaurant Association:

A thought that no one may be considering…We recently got rid of the law that disallowed liquor sales on election day. Probably because we don’t have same day registration. You may now purchase a drink on the same day you vote, if you are over 21 and not intoxicated. The reason our forefathers passed the law prohibiting liquor sales on election day in the first place was to keep campaigns from buying a round of drinks then rounding up bar patrons and having them go vote on the campaigns behalf. What’s happening to our world? Is the Wild West coming back? Guns in bars and rounding up the drunks to vote are steps in that direction. Good citizens can and do figure out how to register prior to election day. However, in the spirit of compromise I could support registration up until the day before an election with proper documentation such as a valid driver’s license. On second thought, aren’t there problems with New Mexico driver’s licenses being too easy to get as well?

CARTER BUNDY, political action representative, AFSCME:

It sounds like I may be on the same page with Carol and Terri yet again! The SDR bills being floated do not allow registration on regular election day itself–only during the early in-person voting period. The standards for ID are actually stricter than for vote-by-mail.

Part of me agrees with Paul that if you don’t follow politics enough to register a month beforehand, you’re probably not paying as much attention as you should. Unfortunately for that theory, though, not everyone in America is required to be quite as intensely into policy and politics as Paul and I are. (Which is probably to the betterment of the state!) Everyone in America who is a non-felon citizen, though, does have the right to vote, and if the technology is there to ensure no fraud, or puts in the same or better protections than our other forms of registration, well, it’s not my job or Paul’s to deny people that right, even if they don’t pay attention until two or three weeks before an election.

Beyond that, there are several practical benefits, including giving clerks better tools to update address changes. And sometimes even people who pay attention move. When all the Democratic and Republican clerks alike are supportive, that should say something about the soundness of this policy.

BILL JORDAN, policy director, New Mexico Voices for Children:

If we are to be a healthy and vibrant democracy, we should do everything possible to enable our citizens to vote. While there are many documented efforts to suppress voter participation, there are very few substantiated cases of actual voter fraud. (Remember why U.S. Attorney David Iglesias was fired?)  Allowing same-day voter registration during early voting is a terrific idea that deserves bipartisan legislative support.