Maryland Could Adopt Same-Day Voter Registration
Vote to see how others feel about this issue
What the Initiative Does
Question 2 would amend the Maryland Constitution to enact a process for registering qualified individuals to vote at a precinct polling place on election day (colloquially referred to as “same-day voting”).
In Favor
Allowing same-day registration will make voting more convenient for Marylanders, expanding ballot box access. The success of same-day registration during early voting indicates that this would be a good way to make it easier to vote.
Opposed
Without a voter ID law, this measure could make it easier to commit voter fraud. It could also be an attempt to give Democrats an unfair advantage by making to easier for their supporters to commit election fraud.
In-Depth
Question 2 was sponsored by 30 Democratic delegates of the Maryland House of Delegates. Rep. Al Carr (D-18), one of the bill’s sponsors, said in support of Question 2:
“A number of states are making it harder and harder to vote but in Maryland, we’re trying to make it easier. Passing this measure is a step forward in the right direction.”
In 2013, the Maryland State Legislature approved a bill authorizing same-day voter registration during the early voting period. In 2016, nearly 20,000 Marylanders used same-day registration during the early voting period to register to vote for the first time or update their registration.
Red Maryland, a conservative website, opposes this measure, and argues that it’s a gambit for Democrats to steal elections:
“Vote buying has a long history in Maryland, going back to the Democrats handing out rum to the voters as they headed to the polls. None of this is new… This constitutional amendment is merely the Maryland Democratic Party’s attempt to game the system to save itself. Knowing that people are turning away from the Democrats in droves, they figure that they might as well think of new and creative ways to steal an election. And make no mistake about it; this constitutional amendment will give Democrats new and creative ways to steal an election and to disenfranchise the voters of Maryland.”
Question 2 made it to the ballot after the Maryland legislature approved it in party-line votes of 91-47 in the House and 33-14 in the Senate.
Summary by Lorelei Yang
(Photo Credit: iStockphoto.com / luismmolina)
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