Question #4 would permit eligible individuals to register to vote or update their voter registration address on Election Day. An individual would have to provide proof of residency, sign a written oath, and acknowledge that providing false information is a felony punishable by not more than 5 years imprisonment or a fine of not more than $10,000, or both.
This is not a complicated question and there is only nominal opposition from the Republican party. This change would essentially eliminate the 10 day waiting period that is currently required between registering and actually voting.
A number of commentators have noted that the change would not have a dramatic impact because the Commonwealth already has a law, enacted in 2022 (Chapter 92 of the Acts of 2022), that established that Massachusetts citizens doing certain things at the Registry of Motor Vehicles, MassHealth, or the Commonwealth Health Connector are automatically registered to vote.
Because the people who tend to register last minute or forget to register on time are often part of the same cohort who do business at MassHealth and the Connector (everyone who owns a car has to do business at the RMV), this change targeted some of the same people who are also being targeted by this proposal.
About 21 states plus DC currently let voters register on Election Day itself. The count rises to about 22 to 25 if you include states that offer same-day registration only during early voting or only in presidential elections.
The objection is the same old Republican canard: voter fraud.
As most of you know, voter fraud in the United States is exceedingly rare, whether in states that offer same day registration or states that do not. And, it turns out, that some of the oldest same-day states are among the best-run. Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Maine have had Election Day registration since the 1970s, for example. Minnesota and Wisconsin consistently rank near the top in turnout and in nonpartisan assessments of election administration.
Passage of the question would slightly increase the administrative burden on the cities and towns that run elections, so there would have to be some additional funding provided to make up the difference. That’s a budget question.
Otherwise, this is not a difficult question at all.
