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Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2013 - 2014
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | December 7, 2012 03:41 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Senator Lisa M. Boscola |
| To: | All Senate members |
| Subject: | Election day registration |
| In the near future, I plan to reintroduce legislation amending the Election Code to provide for Election Day Registration (EDR). By implementing an EDR process, eligible persons are able to register and vote on the same day of any primary, municipal or general election by completing a registration card and providing proof of residence. Nine states allow for registration on or before the day of an election: Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Wisconsin and Wyoming. Advantages include increased voter accessibility and convenience, fewer provisional ballots to be processed, and a reduction in people turned away for not pre-registering properly. Also, by allowing voter registration to continue up to and including election day, voters can take into account the news, debates, advertisements or any other aspects of a candidate’s campaign taking place in that period of time. In the 2008 General Election, voter turnout in states that allow for same-day registration was over 7 percent higher than in states that do not. Similarly, 2006 election results show states experienced an increase in voter turnout by 10-12 percent compared to states without same-day registration. This is a reintroduction of Senate Bill 652 of the previous legislative session. Co-sponsors included Senators COSTA, BROWNE, FONTANA, EARLL, FERLO AND BREWSTER |
Introduced as SB364