Am I Registered to Vote?: A Case For Universal Voting Registration

Several policies have been suggested to combat low participation, voter fraud and other problems at the polls, one of which is universally registering all Americans to vote.

According to FairVote, in most democracies in the world, the government registers voters. In the United States, organizations, activists and political parties are in charge of the construction of voter roll ups. Critics say this process leads to incomplete and inaccurate lists of voters

Universal registration would involve the government registering every American citizen to vote. Upon turning the age eligible to vote, individuals would automatically be registered by the government, and those who become citizens would be added to the registration when they are nationalized.

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FairVote noted that almost a third of Americans eligible to vote are not registered. Near elections, voter drives cause a surge of registrations, leading to an overwhelmed system. The result is millions not participating in politics.

Several states are working toward automatic voter registration policies. These include processing registrations when state tax returns are filed. Post office change of address forms can be tied to the databases containing registered voters in each state, which could lead to an easier process of moving to a universal program.

Opponents to universal registration say it is an invasion of privacy and a violation of an individual’s right to not participate in the political process, according to The Heritage Foundation.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has expressed her support of automatically registering citizens when they turn 18 years old and allowing eligible voters to opt out of the process, The Huffington Post reported.

While new technology allows names to be cross-referenced among databases from different states and flags those that could be duplicates, activists in favor of universally registering people argue such a system would eliminate the need for cross-referencing to avoid fraud, according to The Washington Post.

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• When Did Ex-Felons Lose Their Rights to Vote? A History
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