<x-flowed>One of the substantive claims made in the CT case was that, in fact, most "voter education" through the media (paid ads and other discussion about the candidates or the contest) occurs in the week or two before the election, AFTER the cut-off date for voter registration in most states.  Studies of EDR suggest it benefits two types of people - one that Jeff notes, the mobile, the other, youth.  As we move toward centralized computerized list management of the voter rolls the concern about fraud is hard to sustain.  I also think it's wrong to assume that people who haven't registered to vote 7-30 days before an election are necessarily less educated about the candidates or the election.  And as Jeff observes, even if they are, this is no reason to bar them their right to vote.

Jeff Hauser wrote:

1. The amount of material sent by most states is so much less than that by CA that I think this comment's premise is way off-base.
 
2. Do we really believe that huge chunks of the citizenry of states that generate this informtation read them?  Direct mail professionals doing work for politicos design radically different pieces designed to be effective in, oh, 15 seconds, arguing against the idea that a) citizens read long materials sent them withouit request and b) arguing against thinking our democracy is working if voters rely on direct mail.
 
3. The premises of this e-mail = also completely ignore the massive increase in mobility in America.  Busy people who move between voting should not be expected to request, receive, and process voter registration materials every time they move and before elections.
 
4. What theory of democracy suggests that only the most organized (see 3 above) ought to have a voice?
 
5. Most voters vote based off information from the "earned media," and of course TV and Internet and print ads supplement that.  Furthermore, community leaders and, of course, PARTY AFFILIATION serve as particularly effective heuristics.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: owner-election-law_gl@majordomo.lls.edu [mailto:owner-election-law_gl@majordomo.lls.edu] On Behalf Of Levine, Lloyd
Sent: Wednesday, December 21, 2005 2:40 AM
To: ban@richardwinger.com; election-law@majordomo.lls.edu
Subject: Re: Judge says legislature, not courts can enact same-day registration

The one thing I find interesting about all this talk of same day registration is what isnÕt said.  Usually the concept is discussed as a cure for declining participation. It is often rejected because of Òfraud concerns.Ó  It seems to me there is one other significant problem with same day voter registration: lack of voter education.   WasnÕt it Thomas Jefferson who argued that what the country needs is an informed citizenry?  Exactly how informed of the issues will a person be if that person didnÕt bother to register until Election Day?  They will not have received any of the information from the state, including candidate statements, and arguments for and against initiatives, nor will they have received any information from the candidates or ballot measures themselves.  How is someone supposed to cast an informed vote under those circumstances?  The current voter registration laws of most, if not all, states are such that it is relatively easy to register to vote.  I believe the appropriate question is: do we prize participation more than we value informed participation?

--------------------------
Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld


-----Original Message-----
From: owner-election-law_gl@majordomo.lls.edu <owner-election-law_gl@majordomo.lls.edu>
To: election-law@majordomo.lls.edu <election-law@majordomo.lls.edu>
Sent: Tue Dec 20 16:16:41 2005
Subject: Judge says legislature, not courts can enact same-day registration


 >       December 20, 2005, 5:56 PM EST
 >       HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) _ A federal judge ruled
 > Tuesday that it's up to
 > the state legislature, not the courts, to decide
 > whether Connecticut should
 > allow people to register to vote on Election Day.
 >
 >       Two voters, the Connecticut Working Families
 > Party and six public
 > interest groups _ some active in voter registration
 > _ sued the state,
 > arguing that Connecticut blocks people from
 > registering at the very time
 > politics is at its peak.
 >
 >       They also claimed the U.S. Constitution
 > guarantees citizens the right
 > to register to vote on the same day they cast their
 > ballots. Connecticut's
 > law, they argued, violates their rights to equal
 > protection, to vote, to
 > associate and engage in political speech.
 >
 >       But U.S. District Judge Mark Kravitz said
 > Connecticut's system is
 > already liberal because it allows people to register
 > to vote up to seven
 > days in person before an election. He said the
 > process is easy and the
 > deadline is not discriminatory or severe.
 >
 >       "Most other states requiring pre-election-day
 > registration require
 > their citizens to register to vote three to four
 > weeks before a general
 > election," he wrote in his 60-page opinion.
 > "Therefore, if Connecticut's
 > shortest-in-the pre-election-day registration
 > requirement cannot pass
 > constitutional muster, it is doubtful that any
 > state's can."
 >
 >       Six states in the nation allow same-day
 > registration. Advocates claim
 > it is a way to significantly increase voter
 > participation.
 >
 >       In 2003, Connecticut lawmakers passed same-day
 > registration, but
 > then-Gov. John G. Rowland vetoed the legislation. He
 > said, at the time,
 > there were not enough protections in the system to
 > prevent fraud.
 >
 >       Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz said
 > Tuesday that she supports
 > the concept of same-day registration. Since
 > Rowland's veto, she said, the
 > state has a computerized voter registration system
 > that prevents people from
 > voting twice or committing other types of fraud. But
 > Bysiewicz said it
 > should be up to the legislature to enact the change.
 >
 >       She predicted the issue will likely come up in
 > the next legislative
 > session, which begins in February.
 >       Copyright 2005 Newsday Inc.



__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com

</x-flowed>