voter registration

[cellio]

With all the drives to get people registered to vote in time for the November election, and at least one state reportedly headed to court over deadlines (caused, apparently, by Columbus Day being a holiday), I've been wondering... why do we even need voter registration today? (Aside from preserving some government jobs, I mean.) What's wrong with saying: show up at the poll in your assigned location, show proof of citizenship and of residence, be checked against a list of people who can't vote (mainly people who've already voted, but I think felons can't vote?), and vote. Since voting is districted, election officials can make sure any no-vote list is distributed to the right places in advance -- no Internet connection required. From there, it's just checking that the person is in the right polling place and hasn't already been here. Nobody has to have done paperwork in advance; everybody who's eligible and wants to gets to vote. Wouldn't this enfranchise more voters than the current system?

(You already have to give your name when you show up to vote and be checked off the list, so there's no privacy issue that isn't already present.)

Comments

[goljerp]

It's a darn good thing that my local election board mails us booklets with our polling places, because they keep on changing! So far in the last 3 years, I think there have been 3 different polling places for us, and they keep on moving slightly further from our apartment. I shouldn't complain too much, because they're all within a few blocks of home. I guess it's due to living in a city where the election districts have been redrawn. (I can't just walk to a local polling place, because there are several polling places within a few blocks of home which aren't mine.)

On the other hand, there were complaints in NYC about a mailing which was a bit misleading (it said something like next state primary on the YYYth of XXXXX, but before that was another primary which I guess they weren't thinking of when they made the mailing?)