An unnecessary distraction

From the Solution Looking for a Problem Department, Olympia Bureau, comes this:

A bill that would allow voter registration up to 5 p.m. on Election Day. Apparently, requiring folks to register at least eight days before ballots are due is too onerous a hurdle. Who knew?

The opening section of HB 2204 (and its companion, SB 6127) attempts to explain its need, noting that in the 2008 presidential election, states with election-day registration had an average voter turnout of 69 percent, compared with 62 percent for other states.

What it fails to mention is that in Washington, where mail voting has made it marvelously easy to exercise one’s franchise, the 2008 turnout was 84.61 percent.

So much for that premise.

Rather than solving a problem, adopting Election-Day registration in Washington would actually introduce the potential for errors. This in a state that went through an awkward and ugly series of recounts and court battles after the 2004 race for governor ended in a virtual tie.

Millions were spent in the wake of Gregoire vs. Rossi to purge the state’s rolls of felons who had lost their voter eligibility, people who had died or who were registered in more than one county. A statewide database was created, preventing duplicate registrations and ensuring, as much as is humanly possible, that all the names on the voter rolls belong to eligible, registered voters. One would think — as do Secretary of State Sam Reed and the state’s county auditors — that reasonable registration deadlines, like the generous ones currently in place, enhance the voter rolls’ accuracy.

Allowing registration on Election Day, when auditor’s offices already are scrambling to help voters who lost or didn’t receive a ballot, creates the potential for overcrowded customer-service counters — a recipe for confusion and mistakes in what is, after all, an imperfect, human process.

Besides making it easier than any other state to vote (excepting Oregon, which also has all-mail voting), Washington gives folks an array of options for getting registered. You can even do so online, by printing out and mailing in a form. Plus, now you can register in person at your county auditor’s office up to eight days before the election — it used to be 15 days.

This appears to be part of a national effort by Democrats to get more college students voting. That’s a laudable goal, to be sure, but so is an orderly, error-free election process. Both can be maximized by organizing registration drives weeks before the election, on college campuses and elsewhere.

That would make better use of the energy being spent promoting a misguided bill.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Opinion

toon
Editorial cartoons for Friday, Feb. 7

A sketchy look at the news of the day.… Continue reading

Curtains act as doors for a handful of classrooms at Glenwood Elementary on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024 in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Editorial: Schools’ building needs point to election reform

Construction funding requests in Arlington and Lake Stevens show need for a change to bond elections.

Schwab: Trump proves not as bad as feared; it’s worse

Taking food and medicine from kids; surrendering control to Musk; is this what you voted for?

Keep necessary homeless service program at its Everett location

Regarding The Herald’s front-page coverage of the Hope ‘N Wellness community services… Continue reading

We can’t afford the rich not paying their fair share

In a recent column, Todd Welch claims that a wealth tax on… Continue reading

Can we find a politically moderate path, please?

I was just wondering what happened to the moderates. I am a… Continue reading

Kristof: World’s richest men take on world’s poorest people

Trump says the USAID is run by ‘radical lunitics.’ Is saving countless lives now lunacy.

FILE- In this Nov. 14, 2017, file photo Jaìme Ceja operates a forklift while loading boxes of Red Delicious apples on to a trailer during his shift in an orchard in Tieton, Wash. Cherry and apple growers in Washington state are worried their exports to China will be hurt by a trade war that escalated on Monday when that country raised import duties on a $3 billion list of products. (Shawn Gust/Yakima Herald-Republic via AP, File)
Editorial: Trade war would harm state’s consumers, jobs

Trump’s threat of tariffs to win non-trade concessions complicates talks, says a state trade advocate.

A press operator grabs a Herald newspaper to check over as the papers roll off the press in March 2022 in Everett. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald file photo)
Editorial: Push back news desert with journalism support

A bill in the state Senate would tax big tech to support a hiring fund for local news outlets.

Jayden Hill, 15, an incoming sophomore at Monroe High School is reflected in the screen of a cellphone on Wednesday, July 10, 2024 in Monroe, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Editorial: Students need limits on cellphones in school

School districts needn’t wait for legislation to start work on policies to limit phones in class.

toon
Editorial cartoons for Thursday, Feb. 6

A sketchy look at the news of the day.… Continue reading

Lake Stevens school bond funds needed safety work at all schools

A parent’s greatest fear is for something bad to happen to their… Continue reading

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.