Why and how we should make voting easier

Yesterday I joined a group of political activists who met with the leadership of the Committee of Seventy to urge the group to take the lead in pushing some new efforts to make it easier for people to vote.

We hope a number of new initiatives will come out of our conversations, including greater efforts on the part of our city and state government and public and private businesses organizations like PGW, the Water Department, Comcast, and Verizon to inform citizens about when and how to register to vote and about when and where to vote.

Let’s Print Polling Places on Bills

Many of our ideas, and others as well, will be a matter of public debate soon. Just to give you an idea of what we are talking about, consider this possibility: PGW, the Water Department, Comcast, and Verizon mail bills to residents every month. Those bills are basically printed individually. So why not print reminders on those bills about registering to vote. And why not link the databases of these enterprises to a server, like that found at the Committee of Seventy and Hallwatch, that finds the polling place of the resident and prints it on his or her bill.

Of course, the city could do this more directly. It would be great if the Commissioner’s Office actually send all voters a post card each election reminding them when the election is and where their polling place is.

Before we get to the details, however, a key question is why should public or public and private resources be used to make it easier for people to vote?

Registration is a Barrier to Turnout

I think the answer is pretty straightforward: The various rules and regulations we place on voting drives down turnout. For example, we have a system of voting registration that is fairly onerous. The date to register to vote passes long before most citizens are thinking about the election. Registration can be time consuming, especially if one does not own a car. (Most new registrants to vote do so when registering their cars.)

We take this system for granted, but it did not exist until the early twentieth century.

The Consequences of Early Twentieth Century “Reform”

Our system of registration was invented by “reformers” who wanted to depress voting on the part of members of the working class, immigrants and blacks. The system worked. Between 1856 and 1896 the average turnout in presidential elections was 77% of the voting age population. After registration rules went into effect, things changed, Between 1912 and 1952 the average turnout was only 57% of the voting age population.

The barrier created by registration rules can be seen if we look at turnout as a percentage of those registered to vote and compare it to turnout as a percentage of the voting age population. Between 1960 and 2004, almost 70% of those registered did vote in presidential elections. However, because so many people did not register, only 55% of the voting age population went to the polls in these presidential elections.

Alternatives to Registration

Registrations rules are much less restrictive or non-existent in other parts of the world. Same day registration is sometimes allowed. In addition, some jurisdictions are experimenting with automatic registration of, say, all taxpayers.

Are Fixed Polling Places Really Necessary?

Other aspects of our election system stand in the way of voting. We require everyone to vote at a particular polling place. This adds an element of confusion, especially for new voters, those who have recently moved, or those who live in divisions in which the polling place has moved. Elections in other countries—such as Afghanistan and Iraq—have no such requirement in large part because they do not have registration. Even if we want to keep our registration system in place, modern technology could link polling places to a central database thereby allowing citizens to vote wherever it is convenient for them. This system would also help reduce fraud. At some point, new technology might even allow us to vote at home or at work by computer.

Identification Requirements

The new rules we have placed on voting—the requirement that new voters have proof of identification—also makes voting difficult. In the name of reducing fraud, though perhaps with the purpose of depressing turnout, some political activists have called for new rules that require everyone to produce identification at their polling place. (As reported here, I have worked with a coalition of activists to oppose these rules.)

Bias in Turnout

The consequence of registration and voting rules is that turnout is far lower than it would be without them. And the effects of these rules are not unbiased. Study after study has shown that up to 90% of citizens with a great deal of education and high incomes tend to vote. But of citizens with low incomes and not much education, as few as 20% vote. The reasons are pretty clear. The more education and income one has, the more likely one is to know about politics and to feel that one’s vote and voice makes a difference. And the more education and income one has, the more likely one is to hold a salaried job that one can leave for a hour in order to vote.

Conclusion: Make Voting Easier

The conclusion is obvious: When voting is easier and more people understand how to vote, they are more likely to vote. Thus, so long as we have registration and voting procedures that make it difficult to vote, our government has an obligation to counter those rules with new policies that make voting easier.