Yet thousands of people are kept from doing so due to obstacles in the voting process. Voting is not just an issue of civic engagement, but an issue of social justice; and we must act to ensure that all people are granted the access to vote in every election!
While 20 states have already passed laws that allow people to both register and vote on Election Day with a valid ID and proof of residency, New Jersey has an arbitrary, three-week deadline to register to vote. This barrier decreases voter participation and turnout, especially among youth and minority citizens, because
This means that those who have the most to gain from new legislation and the election of new representatives at the local, state, and national level are the very same people who are being kept from engaging in that election system. Same-day voter registration can change that and give all New Jersey residents the confidence that their voices are being heard.
Legislation (A4548/S2824) has already been introduced in the New Jersey legislature that would allow voters to register and vote on Election Day. Under this proposed law, same-day registrants would be required to provide valid identification, proof of residency and have their eligibility confirmed before their votes ever get counted, meaning the process is safe and requires the same identification as those who registered before Election Day.
Same-day voter registration is safe, easy, and fair. And it works – all states with SDVR found that letting people register and vote on the same day increases turnout among 18- to 24-year-olds by as much as 10 percentage points. Furthermore, a recent study found that Black voter turnout is on average 2-17 percentage points higher and Latina/Latino is on average 0.1-17.5 percentage points higher in states with same day voter registration than similar states without same day voter registration.
