Should Congress require same day voter registration?

Government Operations (e.g., Election Laws)
Same Day Registration Act (H.R. 65)
Awaiting Vote
Bill Summary

This bill would require states with voter registration laws to make same-day registration available at polling places when voting is permitted. H.R. 65 would amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 and allow any eligible individual the ability to register and vote during a federal election, including early voting. This bill would permit a person to register at their polling place and additionally cast their vote in such an election the same day. If a state law already has the same-day voter registration requirement for federal elections, this bill does not apply to them. The bill would go into effect for the November 2022 election and subsequent elections. Sponsor: Rep. Julia Brownley (Democrat, California, District 26)
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Opponents say

• "The logistics of predicting how many ballots to print and how many officials to assign to polling places, with the number of potential voters unknown, would be extremely difficult and inefficient." Source: Paul Ziriax (Republican, Secretary of the State Election Board, Oklahoma)
• [Some] say same-day registration puts too much burden on county election officials. They argued making this change would [increase] the chance of mistakes: “It’s extremely hard to put the information of all of the voters into the system, get their ballots counted and keep the numbers correct while you’re still registering people to vote the same day you’re having an election.” Source: Doug Ellis (Republican, Broadwater County Montana’s treasurer-clerk-superintendent of schools and election administrator)

Proponents say

• "Participation in our democracy should be encouraged and the right to vote should not be hampered by outdated voter registration regulations. Yet in many states, Americans face these barriers while trying to access the ballot box. In California, we saw a record 80.7 percent voter turnout in the 2020 election. This was in large part due to same-day voter registration efforts in our state." Source: Rep. Julia Brownley (Democrat, California, District 26)
• "Eligible voters can use Same Day Registration to correct outdated voter registration records at the polling place, saving themselves an extra step and still allowing them to participate. For eligible voters who have been purged from the rolls but want to cast a ballot, SDR provides them the opportunity to reregister and still make sure their voice is heard on Election Day." Source: Chris Carson and Virginia Kase (President and CEO of the League of Women Voters of the United States)
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