Act Now: Same Day Registration threatened

NC House Bill 91 would establish Same Day Registration (SDR) at all early voting sites in North Carolina - at least it would if only the NC Senate would take action on the bill. Since HB 91 easily passed the House on a 66-45 vote, the measure has languished in the Senate, which so far has yet to schedule even a committee hearing.

Time is of the essence for this critical electoral reform to be implemented in time for the next General Election because it must make it through a lengthy approval process at the US Department of Justice, pursuant to the Voting Rights Act.

Use this form to Act Now by telling Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand and your NC Senator to get moving and pass HB 91 as written.

Sample Letter for Campaign

Subject: Act to Support HB 91, Registration & Voting at One-Stop Sites

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

Please take affirmative action to support HB 91 (SB 195): Registration and Voting at One-Stop Sites, which is languishing in the NC Senate.

Same Day Registration would enfranchise thousands of North Carolina citizens who want to vote but who miss the artificial and unnecessary deadline to register, which is 25 days before the election.

Barriers to voting (whether a poll tax or an outdated registration deadline) block the development of a healthy democracy of, by and for the people.

Time is of the essence. This bill must be approved by the US Department of Justice pursuant to the Voting Rights Act BEFORE IT CAN BE IMPLEMENTED.

We need our state-level leaders to support voting rights, fully and completely.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
May 15, 2007

Background Information

This bill allows a person who misses the cut-off for registration (25 days before the election) to go to a One-Stop voting site, show proper ID, register and vote. One Stop sites are open from 19 to 3 days before Election Day - the "early voting" period. All ballots in this period are retrievable (technically, they are "in-person absentee ballots"), so if a problem is found, the ballot can be pulled and not counted in the official canvass of vote totals. The State Board of Elections says the procedures in H-91 provide for "secure and accessible voting."

Under H-91, a person fills out a registration form in the presence of an elections official, shows proof of residence, and signs a statement, under penalty of perjury, that he or she is a US citizen and resides at the address given.

The verification process begins as soon as the registration is entered into the computer, just like all other registrations. Information is checked against the DMV database and mailings are done to check for bad addresses.

In-person registrations are much more secure and reliable than registrations through the mail or other means. There are no more actual cases of fraud in states with Same-Day Registration than in states without SDR. (Six states have SDR on Election Day itself: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Maine, Idaho, New Hampshire, and Wyoming. Montana began Election-Day SDR in 2006)