Only you can forfeit your vote

Almost one in four eligible Americans is not registered to vote, among whom are a disproportionate percentage of the poor and young. Today is National Voter Registration Day, a movement designed to change that.

On the first Voter Registration Day in 2012, more than 300,000 Americans registered to exercise their most fundamental of democratic rights. Not good enough; let’s triple it today.

Robust voter turnout is essential to a healthy democracy and can make all the difference, as high-profile close elections keep proving. Low turnout is generally a symptom of either selfish and uninformed apathy, or political disengagement — the more common belief that voting will change nothing. Such a belief is as globally relative as it is inaccurate; established democracies tend to have higher turnout than do countries with authoritarian regimes.

Yet even among democracies, the U.S. has consistently lower voting rates. Voter turnout worldwide ranges from around 90 percent in Australia and Belgium (who have compulsory voting); 80 percent in Austria, Sweden, and Italy; and 70 percent in other economically developed countries with democracies. U.S. voting rates hover only in the 60 percent range during presidential elections, about 40 percent in mid-term elections, and less in local elections. Census figures since 1948 show the peak year of voter turnout was 65 percent in 1976.

How we register is one approach to improving this figure. Why do we have an opt-in system? Citizens must take active steps to register; advocates say universal voter registration (voting wouldn’t be mandatory, but registration automatic) would both increase participation and modernize registration. This could also significantly reduce fraud — duplicate registrations would be much harder if the onus was on government to update the rolls upon reaching eligibility based on birth records and so on, rather than relying on the word of citizens who submit forms.

The history of voter registration is rooted in disenfranchisement. In the early 19th century in this immigrant nation, states were concerned with the growing number of foreign-born transients (rather than those who came to stay) participating in local government; a national registration system was born to ensure non-citizens could not vote. While it worked, it also ensured that many of the poor and working class were similarly not included; they were at work when assessors came by to register them. Too much was left to the whim of election officials before processes were improved. Some historians say this was no accident, as the poor and disenfranchised tended to favor one party.

It wasn’t just the poor. After slavery was abolished, state laws were slow to correct discrimination so many new African-American citizens were left out. Over the years states instituted their own registration systems, with some improvements but without uniformity — hence a string of lawsuits, constitutional amendments, and increasing awareness. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 added federal examiners to investigate electoral offices, especially in the South to ensure nondiscriminatory practices, leading to a million new voters.

Still, voter turnout was not where advocates hoped. Beyond fairness and outright discrimination, we needed ease. In 1993, President Clinton signed the National Voter Registration Act, which mandated that states allow citizens to register to vote by mail, at the DMV, or at local public offices. This netted 9 million new voters after it took effect.

So if you still haven’t registered, have moved, or changed your name, you can get the short, mail-in registration form at Idahovotes.gov, or register in person at the local DMV or County Election Department. Mail-in forms must be postmarked 25 days before an election. If you forget, don’t skip voting; Election Day registration is permitted at your polling place with state-issued photo identification, official school ID, or passport, and if applicable, proof of different address such as a recent electric bill. Citizens serving in our military or overseas may learn how to register and vote at FVAP.gov.

“Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote, except the American people themselves and the only way they can do this is by not voting.” — Franklin D. Roosevelt

Sholeh Patrick, J.D., is a columnist for the Hagadone News Network. Email: [email protected]