Yeah, there’s also a bit of a difference in that voting is connected to where you live, while selective service registration doesnt really matter where you live, just that you exist (and are male). They can find you if they need to.
Also, I’ve lived in multiple states with “automatic voter registration”, and it’s really a misnomer. All it is is an extra check box when you get a driver’s license, so registration is: 1) not happening if you dont have a driver’s license, 2) not happening if you choose not to check the box.
I’ve made this rant before, but every country has voter registration somehow. Even Australia where you are required to vote, it’s still on the individual to enroll and update their enrollment whenever they move. Similarly, I’ve had Dutch people tell me they dont have to register to vote, and this is also not true because they have to register to exist at whatever address they live at, and voting registration is conferred along with that.
Some places let you prove you can vote when you go to the polling location, but that’s still effectively the same thing.
The only way for it to be truly automatic is if you live in a microstate that doesnt have multiple voting districts, or the government surveils you to keep track of where you live.
there’s also a bit of a difference in that voting is connected to where you live,
So just like paying taxes
Automatic voter registration that would cover 99% of eligible voters would be easy if we made that checkbox an opt out and put it on more government paperwork (e.g. tax filings, Medicaid applications, public school student registration stuff, etc.), we just lack the political will to do it
This is the real best answer, I think. If they can put a check box in the driver’s license application, they can spam it in a whole bunch of other spots.
Not everyone does taxes, either, but there are certainly way more automatic spots you could try to catch people. Between that and automatic mailed ballots, we could really increase voting.
I do also wish all states had open primaries. It seems really dumb that I have to link myself to a party that I dont like to try to select the least bad candidate.
Voter registration is still complety pointless. Why do you even need to register to vote? Sure, it’s location-based, but you should just be able to show up to the polls with your drivers license which lists your address.
Why does it need to be a completely separate thing? This is just a method to suppress the vote.
Not everyone has ID either. There’s no mandatory national identification card. Social Security number might be the closest thing, but has no relationship with where you live
There is probably a valid argument about the managing the logistics of poling places to be made here.
Jurisdictions need to know how many ballots, poll workers, and polling locations they need to actually run the election.
Registration also helps to determine what proportion of the electorate turned out. This can give hints to how well information about the time and place of elections was advertised and whether polling places were open long enough or at enough locations to give people the opertunity to vote.
The way in which registration is handled in a given jurisdiction can absolutely be designed to suppress votes.
Washington votes entirely by mail with the postal system handling out going and drop boxes and postal system handling incoming. The county generally knows how many adults live there and can just figure most adults are eligible voters.
You can register separately or when you get your id. If you are indigent the same place that gives you food stamps and medical insurance whether you have an address or not gives you a coupon for a $5 state ID.
No idea why it’s $5 rather than zero under the circumstances and others may have challenges as far as coming in from out of state or needing multiple documents to establish identity especially married and divorced women who changed their name but generally people are pretty well served
That’s great, and perhaps more of the country should.
Everywhere I have cast a ballot operates in person voting in addition to options for mail in ballots.
Washington state chose to address the logistics issues by removing polling stations. I would be curious how many people have problems when they move counties.
There are offices you can go to both for registration or assistance. I’ve had to get a replacement for an accidentally discarded ballot day of an election. They are for support just not an in person voting option.
In my instance in person was just showing an ID and receiving a replacement copy of very same paper ballot filling it out and dropping it in the same sort of collection box that is 5 minutes walk from my apartment. Because few people have issues there was no wait when I drove in to resolve mine. They weren’t dealing with the quarter of a million people who live in my county filing through a line just handling isolated issues like my dumb ass losing their ballot at the last minute and continuing the work of counting our verifiable paper ballots.
Why do you need a separate registration step to do any of that? You already know how many eligible voters live in each precinct. Voter registration made sense before state-issued photo ids were a thing. But they’re now just a tool of voter suppression.
What can you do with voter registration rolls that you can’t do with a database of names, addresses, and citizenship status?
In the US, at least, there are no standard, state-issued IDs. Driver’s licenses largely fill that role, but as others have noted, not everyone drives (and not everyone who drives has an up-to-date license).
There is probably a valid argument about the managing the logistics of poling places to be made here.
Is there? Never had to register to vote, never had to walk more than a few minutes to the polling place, never had to wait more than a few minutes to cast the vote. These are not unique experiences, but simply what everyone expects in any functional democracy.
When you cast a vote, how do they know you are eligible to vote there? The answer is that you registered at some point, though they may not have called it that
If you want to migrate here legally, you will have to apply for permanent or temporary residency. You will be registered to vote (insofar as you would be eligible to cast them) as soon as you do.
So the difference in the US is if you move to a different voting area, there’s nothing requiring you to report your location to the government, so they would have no way of knowing that you live there.
That’s not a separate thing in a lot of states like I noted. Part of getting a driver’s license is just proving to the government where you live, and thats what registering to vote is.
Requiring a license to operate a motor vehicle is what’s suppressing the vote, not the idea that at some point before you cast a vote, you have to tell the government where you live.
Similarly, I’ve had Dutch people tell me they dont have to register to vote, and this is also not true because they have to register to exist at whatever address they live at, and voting registration is conferred along with that.
Oh no!, the horror!, i have to change my address in different services if i move!
Yeah, there’s also a bit of a difference in that voting is connected to where you live, while selective service registration doesnt really matter where you live, just that you exist (and are male). They can find you if they need to.
Also, I’ve lived in multiple states with “automatic voter registration”, and it’s really a misnomer. All it is is an extra check box when you get a driver’s license, so registration is: 1) not happening if you dont have a driver’s license, 2) not happening if you choose not to check the box.
I’ve made this rant before, but every country has voter registration somehow. Even Australia where you are required to vote, it’s still on the individual to enroll and update their enrollment whenever they move. Similarly, I’ve had Dutch people tell me they dont have to register to vote, and this is also not true because they have to register to exist at whatever address they live at, and voting registration is conferred along with that.
Some places let you prove you can vote when you go to the polling location, but that’s still effectively the same thing.
The only way for it to be truly automatic is if you live in a microstate that doesnt have multiple voting districts, or the government surveils you to keep track of where you live.
So just like paying taxes
Automatic voter registration that would cover 99% of eligible voters would be easy if we made that checkbox an opt out and put it on more government paperwork (e.g. tax filings, Medicaid applications, public school student registration stuff, etc.), we just lack the political will to do it
This is the real best answer, I think. If they can put a check box in the driver’s license application, they can spam it in a whole bunch of other spots.
Not everyone does taxes, either, but there are certainly way more automatic spots you could try to catch people. Between that and automatic mailed ballots, we could really increase voting.
I do also wish all states had open primaries. It seems really dumb that I have to link myself to a party that I dont like to try to select the least bad candidate.
Voter registration is still complety pointless. Why do you even need to register to vote? Sure, it’s location-based, but you should just be able to show up to the polls with your drivers license which lists your address.
Why does it need to be a completely separate thing? This is just a method to suppress the vote.
Not everybody drives.
Or you ID.
Not everyone has ID either. There’s no mandatory national identification card. Social Security number might be the closest thing, but has no relationship with where you live
There is probably a valid argument about the managing the logistics of poling places to be made here.
Jurisdictions need to know how many ballots, poll workers, and polling locations they need to actually run the election.
Registration also helps to determine what proportion of the electorate turned out. This can give hints to how well information about the time and place of elections was advertised and whether polling places were open long enough or at enough locations to give people the opertunity to vote.
The way in which registration is handled in a given jurisdiction can absolutely be designed to suppress votes.
Washington votes entirely by mail with the postal system handling out going and drop boxes and postal system handling incoming. The county generally knows how many adults live there and can just figure most adults are eligible voters.
You can register separately or when you get your id. If you are indigent the same place that gives you food stamps and medical insurance whether you have an address or not gives you a coupon for a $5 state ID.
No idea why it’s $5 rather than zero under the circumstances and others may have challenges as far as coming in from out of state or needing multiple documents to establish identity especially married and divorced women who changed their name but generally people are pretty well served
That’s great, and perhaps more of the country should.
Everywhere I have cast a ballot operates in person voting in addition to options for mail in ballots.
Washington state chose to address the logistics issues by removing polling stations. I would be curious how many people have problems when they move counties.
There are offices you can go to both for registration or assistance. I’ve had to get a replacement for an accidentally discarded ballot day of an election. They are for support just not an in person voting option.
In my instance in person was just showing an ID and receiving a replacement copy of very same paper ballot filling it out and dropping it in the same sort of collection box that is 5 minutes walk from my apartment. Because few people have issues there was no wait when I drove in to resolve mine. They weren’t dealing with the quarter of a million people who live in my county filing through a line just handling isolated issues like my dumb ass losing their ballot at the last minute and continuing the work of counting our verifiable paper ballots.
Why do you need a separate registration step to do any of that? You already know how many eligible voters live in each precinct. Voter registration made sense before state-issued photo ids were a thing. But they’re now just a tool of voter suppression.
What can you do with voter registration rolls that you can’t do with a database of names, addresses, and citizenship status?
In the US, at least, there are no standard, state-issued IDs. Driver’s licenses largely fill that role, but as others have noted, not everyone drives (and not everyone who drives has an up-to-date license).
Is there? Never had to register to vote, never had to walk more than a few minutes to the polling place, never had to wait more than a few minutes to cast the vote. These are not unique experiences, but simply what everyone expects in any functional democracy.
When you cast a vote, how do they know you are eligible to vote there? The answer is that you registered at some point, though they may not have called it that
Yes of course, just not in a separate step. Every legal resident is automatically registered to vote.
So if I moved to your town, how would the people at the polls know I was a legal resident?
If you want to migrate here legally, you will have to apply for permanent or temporary residency. You will be registered to vote (insofar as you would be eligible to cast them) as soon as you do.
So the difference in the US is if you move to a different voting area, there’s nothing requiring you to report your location to the government, so they would have no way of knowing that you live there.
That’s not a separate thing in a lot of states like I noted. Part of getting a driver’s license is just proving to the government where you live, and thats what registering to vote is.
Requiring a license to operate a motor vehicle is what’s suppressing the vote, not the idea that at some point before you cast a vote, you have to tell the government where you live.
Oh no!, the horror!, i have to change my address in different services if i move!
I’m not saying it’s necessarily a bad thing, just that it’s literally the same thing as registering to vote.