It looks like Colorado is about to implement universal mail-in voting. You’ll still be able to vote early in person or in person on election day, but all voters will receive a mail-in ballot. They are also introducing same-day registration.
In 2012, Colorado trailed only Minnesota and Wisconsin in voter turnout. These reforms could easily boost Colorado into first place in 2016.
My questions for the media are these: is this really the flip side of passing laws to make it more difficult to vote that have the intention of lowering turnout? Are the Democrats expanding the electorate for partisan purposes in the exact same way that Republicans are limiting it for partisan advantage? And, even if you feel impelled to answer those questions in the affirmative, do both endeavors have the same legitimacy? Is helping people vote the moral equivalent of taking steps to prevent people from voting?
I’d point out, additionally, that at least one study of election day registration showed that it increased turnout by seven percent, while modestly increasing the representation of the lower income/education spectrum of the electorate, but that it did not have any perceptible impact on the partisan breakout of the electorate. In other words, more people vote, but the way they vote is representative of the electorate as a whole.
So, even though it is generally believed that higher turnout will benefit Democrats, it isn’t necessarily true. With election day registration, at least, it doesn’t seem to make a difference. What will make a difference in the partisan makeup of the electorate are laws specifically designed to disenfranchise key Democratic constituencies, which is precisely what Voter Photo ID laws do. Because women often abandon their maiden names, they are more likely to have ID that doesn’t match their registration. Because minorities are more likely to be urban and less likely to own a car, they are less likely to own any photo ID at all. Because college students are often away from home and they move a lot, they are likely to have mismatched identification and registration. And the elderly often give up driving and no longer need a driver’s license. Among these groups, only the elderly trend towards the Republicans, but those on fixed incomes tend toward the Democrats.
When Democrats do voter registration in minority neighborhoods, they are trying to give themselves a partisan advantage, but when they create election-day registration they should expect none.
So, I ask again, are the Republican and Democratic attitudes towards voting really morally equivalent?
