Colorado is making it easier to vote in a big way
by David Atkins
It hasn’t gotten the national attention it deserves, but a sweeping measure to overhaul elections in Colorado is swiftly moving towards passage — one that could function as a model for other voting reformers in other states, and perhaps even nationally. The Colorado measure will represent a big step forward, because it sticks to the most fundamental principle that most reformers think should guide our efforts to fix voting: That voting should be made easier for as many people as possible.
This, at a time when conservative groups are working to restrict voting in the name of “voter fraud.” As Reid Wilson recently put it, the Colorado measure is “the Democratic comeback to voter ID.”
Reform advocates who have been briefed on Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper’s plans tell me they expect him to sign the legislation tomorrow. The measure, which has cleared both houses in Colorado, contains a number of key provisions. It requires a ballot to be mailed to every registered voter; voters choose how to vote, whether by mail or dropping off the ballot, or even in person, early or on election day. It lengthens the early voting period and shortens the time required for state residency in order to qualify to vote. It expands voter registration through Election Day. And it allows people to vote at any precinct within their county.
“The biggest problem is people showing up at the wrong precinct,” Ellen Dumm, spokesperson for Coloradans for Voter Access and Modernized Elections, tells me. “This is unique in that expands all options. It really does expand access to voting at a time when we’ve seen a lot of restriction of voting. This makes voting a lot easier.”
Another idea out there in California is being promoted by own state senator Hannah-Beth Jackson is to pre-register teenagers to vote so that they’re automatically eligible vote once they turn 18:
State Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) has just introduced a bill that would allow 15-year-olds to pre-register to vote.
Senate Bill 113 does not change the voting age. But it would allow a person to fill out the necessary forms to become pre-registered beginning at 15, an age when young people typically head to the DMV to get their instructional permit or driver’s license. Since 1995, the federal Motor Voter Law has allowed voter registration when applying for a driver’s license.
“Becoming a driver is an important rite of passage, and so is becoming a voter,” said Jackson. “When teenagers take the wheel to become a driver, we’re saying, let’s create an easy opportunity for them to also become a future voter.”
And, of course, there’s switching election day from Tuesday to a weekend–or better yet, making federal election days national holidays.
Of all the ills Republicans do, restricting access to democracy is among the most injurious.
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