Same-day voter registration
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Same-day voter registration enables voters to register and vote at the same time. Same-day registration is sometimes referred to as Election Day registration.[1]
In states that allow same-day registration, voters must generally provide proof of residency (e.g., utility bill, pay stub) and identity (e.g., driver's license) at the time of registration.
No state has adopted or abandoned same-day registration since 2021. Since then, two states have made changes to their laws which were blocked by state courts. Read more here.
States with same-day registration
As of May 2024, the following states had same-day registration provisions:
Two states, Alaska and Rhode Island, allowed same-day registration for presidential elections.[1]
Support and opposition
The following quotes briefly summarize arguments for and against same-day registration. See our page, Arguments for and against same-day voter registration, for detailed support and opposition arguments from a variety of sources.
| Arguments for and against same-day registration | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Support | Opposition | ||||||
| "I support same-day voter registration because it will combat voter suppression and increase participation in our elections. Same-day voter registration can lead to a 5% voter turnout increase, with as much as a 10% increase among voters 24 and under. Same-day registration will increase turn out amongst young voters and diverse communities." -League of Women Voters of New Jersey (2022)[4] |
Same-day registration "make[s] it easier to commit fraud and promotes chaos at the polls...as election officials have no time to verify the accuracy of voter registration information and cannot anticipate the number of voters, ballots, and precinct workers that will be needed." | ||||||
Same-day voter registration legislation
The table below lists bills related to same-day voter registration introduced during, or carried over to each state's regular legislative session this year. The following information is included for each bill:
- State
- Bill number
- Official name or caption
- Most recent action date
- Legislative status
- Topics dealt with by the bill
Bills are organized alphabetically, first by state and then by bill number. The table displays up to 100 results by default. To view additional results, use the arrows in the upper-right corner of the table. For more information about a particular bill, simply click the bill number. This will open a separate page with additional information.
Noteworthy events
Montana (2024)
On March 27, 2024, the Montana Supreme Court ruled that four election laws passed during the state’s 2021 legislative session violated the state constitution by infringing on citizens’ fundamental right to vote, including a bill that prohibited same-day registration. The decision upheld a lower court ruling from September 2022.
The four bills made changes to different areas of election law. HB 176 eliminated same-day voter registration, HB 506 made it illegal for a 17-year-old elector who would be 18 at the time of a general election to receive or vote an absentee ballot, SB 169 eliminated student IDs as acceptable forms of identification for in-person voting, and HB 530 set new rules for third-party ballot collection "to preclude the paid collection and submission of absentee ballots by other individuals or groups."[7]
In the majority opinion, Chief Justice Mike McGrath wrote that HB 176 "interferes with the right to vote due to its effect on numerous Montanans who utilize election day registration to both register and vote at the same time on election day."[8]
Delaware (2022)
On October 7, 2022, the Delaware Supreme Court ruled that a law allowing same-day voter registration was unconstitutional. The court ruled that the same-day registration statute conflicted with Article V, Section 4 of the Delaware Constitution. That section of the state constitution provides that voter registration should conclude no "less than 10 days before" the general election.[9]
Delaware initially established same-day registration when Governor John Carney (D) signed HB 25 into law on July 22, 2022. The bill provided for same-day voter registration for any presidential primary, primary, special, or general election and required a voter to present a copy of a current and valid government-issued photo ID or a document, dated within the last 60 days, displaying the voter's name and address (e.g., utility bill, bank statement, etc.).
The Delaware House of Representatives approved HB25 by a vote of 24-13 on June 7, 2022, with 23 Democrats and one Republican voting in favor and one Democrat and 12 Republicans in opposition. The Delaware State Senate approved the bill by a vote of 14-7 on June 22, 2022, with Democrats casting all "yes" votes and Republicans casting all "no" votes.[10]
Patrick Harlan and Crawford County Republican Central Committee v. Charles Scholz (2016-2017)
On August 4, 2017, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit fully reversed an injunction against Illinois' same-day voter registration law requiring counties with populations exceeding 100,000 to provide for same-day registration after issuing a temporary stay against the injunction in the fall of 2016.
On August 4, 2016, Patrick Harlan and the Crawford County Republican Central Committee filed suit, alleging that the law, by providing for different voting conditions in different locations, violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Amendment XIV, United States Constitution. On August 9, 2016, the plaintiffs asked for a preliminary injunction to prevent counties from offering same-day voter registration. On September 27, 2016, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois granted the injunction.
On October 10, 2016, the Seventh Circuit stayed the district court's order, allowing for same-day voter registration to take place in the November 2016 general election. The court's ruling on August 4, 2017, overturned the injunction, concluding that the plaintiffs did not provide evidence of harm to voters in smaller counties, and returned the case to the district court for further proceedings.[11][12]
The lower court dismissed the case in May 2018.[13]
North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP v. McCrory (2013-2016)
In 2016, a federal appeals court struck down a 2013 North Carolina law that would have eliminated same-day registration during early voting and instituted voter ID requirements, along with other provisions. Governor Pat McCrory (R) signed the bill in question into law on August 12, 2013. The federal appeals court decision restored same-day registration during early voting.
A number of lawsuits were filed against the law, and the cases were consolidated in a case brought before the District Court of the Middle District of North Carolina. The suits alleged that the law discriminated against minority groups. North Carolina was the first state to approve new voting laws after the United States Supreme Court struck down portions of the federal Voting Rights Act in June 2013.[14][15]
The district court upheld the provisions of the law, ruling that the provisions did not place a discriminatory burden on African Americans and that the state had other reasons beyond discriminatory intent for imposing the provisions.[16] The plaintiffs in the case appealed.
On July 29, 2016, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit struck down the elimination of same-day registration and the state's photo ID requirement along with other provisions, ruling that the state legislature had enacted them with racially discriminatory intent. On May 15, 2017, the Supreme Court of the United States declined to hear the state's appeal, letting the Fourth Circuit's decision stand.[17]
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The Ballot Bulletin
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See also
- Voter registration
- Automatic voter registration
- Online voter registration
- Elections and events calendar
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 NCSL, "Same-Day Voter Registration," January 31, 2023
- ↑ Colorado is a vote-by-mail state. In order to vote by mail, registration must be completed at least eight days prior to the election. If voting in person on Election Day, a voter can register at the polls.
- ↑ Same-day registration in North Carolina applies only to the early voting period.
- ↑ League of Women Voters of New Jersey, "Support Same-Day Voter Registration," accessed November 17, 2023
- ↑ The Heritage Foundation says its mission is "to formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense." The Heritage Foundation, "About Heritage," accessed September 20, 2019
- ↑ The Heritage Foundation, "The Facts About H.R. 1—the For the People Act of 2019," February 1, 2019
- ↑ Casetext, "Mont. Democratic Party v. Jacobsen, Synopsis of the case" March 27, 2024
- ↑ Casetext, "Mont. Democratic Party v. Jacobsen," March 27, 2024
- ↑ Supreme Court of the State of Delaware, "Albence v. Higgin and Mennella," October 7, 2022
- ↑ Delaware General Assembly, "House Substitute 1 for House Bill 25," accessed August 1, 2022
- ↑ United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, "Harlan v. Scholz: Order," August 4, 2017
- ↑ Courthouse News Service, "Seventh Circuit Upholds Same-Day Illinois Voter Registration," August 4, 2017
- ↑ ACLU Illinois, "Victory For Voter Access in Illinois as Court Dismisses Election Day Registration Lawsuit," May 22, 2018
- ↑ CBS News, "N.C. sued soon after voter ID bill signed into law," August 13, 2013
- ↑ Politico, "Justice Department challenges North Carolina voter ID law," September 30, 2013
- ↑ Harvard Law Review, "North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP v. McCrory," April 10, 2017
- ↑ Ballot Access News, "U.S. Supreme Court Refuses to Hear All Four Election Law Cases that had Been on Conference Last Week," May 15, 2017
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