All states aside from North Dakota require voters to register before voting, but a significant number allow registration on the same day that voting takes place.
States with same-day voter registration lean toward Democrats, but it isn’t limited to blue states. By Ballotpedia’s account, of the 21 states offering same-day registration with little or no qualifiers, nine have Democratic trifectas, six Republican trifectas, and six are split.
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Here are the 21 states with same-day voter registration, plus the District of Columbia:
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Iowa
- Maine
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Montana
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Mexico
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
- District of Columbia
A handful of other states have some version of same-day registration with qualifiers:
- North Carolina, New York, and Massachusetts only offer same-day registration during early voting
- Rhode Island and Alaska only have same-day registration for elections for president
North Dakota doesn’t have voter registration at all, so functionally allows same-day voter registration.
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Same-day voter registration has been found to boost voter turnout, but still has its critics. Unlike other voting processes, however, same-day registration is notable for its nonpartisan critics, who attack it from very different angles than most who seek to make voting rules more strict.
Opponents of same-day voter registration have attacked it on bureaucratic grounds, arguing that allowing it adds a much bigger workload for election workers and creates longer lines on Election Day. Election administrators are often the fiercest opponents of the process.
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
