Voter Registration

[rolanni]

So, today, among other things, I went to City Hall to register to vote.

Frequent readers of this blog will recall that I thought I had registered to vote when I updated my driver's license with the new address, because there was, on the back of the Official Department of Motor Vehicle Change of Address form a question accompanied by a ticky-box: DO YOU WANT TO REGISTER TO VOTE?  Y/N

I ticked off Y, thinking, in my naivete that this would mean that the DMV would kindly place my name on the rolls of registered voters in Waterville.

Come to find out, however, that this is merely a pleasantry, kind of like, "How are you?"  ("Would you like to register to vote?"  "Oh, you would?  Well, isn't that nice?") and you still have to go to City Hall in person, show your driver's license with your correct address to the Registrar and be added to the voting rolls.

This is exactly what Steve did, yesterday, having stopped at City Hall to be certain that he was, in fact, registered to vote, and being told that, no, he wasn't.

He brought this information home to me, and since I had errands to run today, I added "register to vote, REALLY" to my list.

This morning, therefore, I went to Day's Jeweler's to pick up my repaired necklace, whereupon I received a receipt, then I went across the street to City Hall, Steve joining me after dispatching his own errand at The Framemakers, and we assayed the City Clerk's Office.  The Registrar had a citizen at her window, and, upon learning what was my mission, another clerk directed me to "go down the hall, to the left.  Absentee voting."

We obediently went down the hall to the left, found two efficient looking women behind folding tables with computers and forms on them.  One was already engaged with a customer, but the other had me come forward and asked what she could do for me.

I told her that I wanted to register to vote, and handed her my driver's license, which she looked at and then said, "I will need to see some identification."

I blinked and pointed at the driver's license.

"Yes, well, of course, that's identification," she clarified, "but I need something that proves you live at this address -- an electric bill, a sewer bill -- something like that."

I was good.  I remained silent until I had counted to twelve, both ways, and then I said, "This is the dumbest thing I've ever heard.  I know you ALL do it, but honestly, I don't carry my CMP bill around with me.  The driver's license isn't good enough?"

She shook her head.

I opened my purse, and pulled out the receipt from Day's Jewelers, which had my name and address on it.

"I have this.  Will it do?"

To her credit, she made it do, and I sit before you a registered voter in the City of Waterville.

Bear with me just a few lines longer while I belabor the point that Steve offered to the Registrar his driver's license as proof of identity and address and it was accepted without question, without a demand for additional "verification."

Possibly Steve looks more honest than I do.  Possibly the Registrar made a judgement call.  But, really, it ought to be as Easy As Possible to register to vote.  Yes, identification ought to be required and dodgy papers ought to be questioned.  But, honestly, a driver's license ought to do the trick in a large percentage of cases.

Sigh.

In other news, we're home now, having taken care of picking my necklace, and registering to vote, and mailing the corrected page proofs to Baen, and stopping at the grocery for bread and wine.

Time to go to work, I guess.

Here's Sprite, being a desk dragon:

Comments

[cgbookcat1]

Many people also get and pay such bills electronically now. A passport or SS card wouldn't have an address -- perhaps an item of junk mail would suffice?

Sprite naps majestically! She has command of the entire desk.

[martianmooncrab]

we have Motor Voter as its called in Oregon. It does work when you do the tickie box at DMV for voting, since you have to provide more paperwork than ever to get a license. We also vote by mail, to make things even easier.

Voter Registration

[crussel]

Welcome to the era of active voter suppression. This is not an accident, this is not casual, this is The Way Things Are these days. Good on Steve for double-checking what should not have needed checking on, and good on you for counting to 12. Both ways. I suspect I might not have been quite so patient.

[gl48heaton]

And on the other hand.
I had to get a new DL today.
Gave them my old one to be voided (our licenses are processed out of state and take 7 - 14 days) then was told that I needed "proof of residency" OTHER THAN THE DL AND THE CARD THE STATE SENT ME!!!!!!!
Government photo ID preferred, with current address please, and thank you.

My non-drivers ID with photo issued by the state was no good either.

I am a weapons owner and hold Concealed Carry permits from 2 state + my home state's as I travel to states that don't always recognize my home state permit.

So, anyhoo the ID they took was my Utah CCW, with photo and current address thank you very much.

[jessie_c]

I am so happy that I live in a sane country which hasn't yet reached the levels of voter suppression the home of the no-longer free has (although the Tories did try their hardest to do so a few years ago).

Here, you tick off the "I want to be added to the Voters' list" option on your tax forms and Revenue Canada does all the rest. This also adds you to the Provincial and Municipal lists, all automagically. If you're registering at a time other than tax time, you can go to Elections Canada and register online as long as you have a Driver's licence or Provincial ID card. There are other ways, such as in-person at the polling place on election day.

Canadian Voter Registration

[crussel]

A much saner solution, surely. Heck, you don't even need ID as long as someone at the polling station will vouch for you! (This is actually important for First Nations voters who often don't have government issued ID.) Automagic registration is good, but same day registration is the litmus test for whether you pay lip service to want to encourage voting, or you actually believe in it.

Re: Canadian Voter Registration

[isabellagolightly]

In ‘Straya, we can just turn up at the polling booth (always a Saturday), tell ‘em who we are, confirm our DOB, affirm we haven’t voted at another polling station, and get handed the ballot paper. There are pens in the booth, and always a sausage sizzle for post-democracy-in-action sustenance.

[melita66]

California now allows you to become a permanent absentee voter. It means I have to pay the postage or drop the ballot off but I love it

Voting in Holland

[hanneke]

Here in Holland, when someone is born or has died, you have to tell the town registrar within 3 working days; and if you move to a new town you have to notify them within 3 weeks (sending in a card suffices for that; the new town contacts the old town to square the registry).
Then when you turn 18, you're automatically registered to vote. If you're a Dutch citizen you can vote in all the elections, if you're a foreigner who has lived here legally for 5 years you can vote in the local town elections but not the national elections.
For every election, the town sends a voting card to every voter in their registry at their registered address. On voting day you hand in the card at the polling station and show legal photo ID (driving license or passport or local ID card - everyone is obliged to have one of those anyway, which is why the cheaper local ID card option was added when that became law, and indigents can get financial assistence to get one).
You can designate someone to vote for you and sign for that on the card, if you can't make it to the polling station between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. and want a family member to do so for you (I did that for my grandma once); but nobody can hand in more than 5 cards.
You can also vote at polling booths at train stations on the way to work, or any polling station within your own town; since the voter rolls became digital you're not limited to a specific polling station.
There's also an option for sending the signed voting card back to the town in return for them mailing you an absentee ballot, but I've never tried that so I'm not sure of the details.
The voting itself is still done on paper, as it's not yet possible to completely and reliably secure a digital vote, including the possibility of doing recounts.
We really do want as many people to vote as possible, so we try to make voting easy without making it mandatory. Still, often only 60% or even less vote; last local elections (always less popular) I think it was only 48%.

[hairmonger]

I am trying in vain to remember what happened six years ago when I last moved and changed my registration. I think all I had to show was my newly-updated driver's license, which I had changed by the simple method of telling them my new address.

I did have to adjust to showing my ID to vote, because for the previous twelve years I had voted where one of the poll-workers had known me since birth, and Kentucky law still says (for how much longer?) that if the voter is known to a poll-worker that's all the identification needed.

Mary Anne in Kentucky