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[Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com>]

Don showed the difference between voter fraud and registration fraud.  
The ACORN imbroglio is an example of the fact that something is  
haywire--that we Americans have not adequately addressed who or what  
should cause voter registration and urge citizens to vote. This  
article points out that we Americans are one of the few peoples who  
accept a national government's disinterest in urging and helping its  
citizens to become part of the process.



Universal Voter Registration as the Real Answer to Fraud Concerns
by Rob Richie and Adam Fogel
Blaming ACORN for our voter registration system is a classic failure  
of missing the forest for the trees. Amidst accusations of ACORN  
putting our democracy in jeopardy, few are asking why private groups  
are even in the business of voter registration drives. The answer is  
that the United States is one of the few democracies where the federal  
government doesn’t assume responsibility for establishing full and  
accurate voter rolls — and it just isn’t working.

Each election cycle, scores of generally well-intentioned  
organizations and individuals register millions of new people to vote,  
and inevitably accusations of voter registration fraud — often  
mistakenly termed “voter fraud” — follow. Some canvassers submit  
fraudulent names for extra pay; this is what ACORN has been accused  
of. Many citizens submit forms with inaccurate information.

Although highly unlikely to impact the actual casting of votes, voter  
registration fraud is serious — it wastes all-too-scarce resources of  
local election offices, balloons voter rolls with fake names and  
increases the odds of Election Day confusion. Ending voter  
registration fraud is a big reason for the government to modernize  
registration.

These problems are part of a much bigger failure in how we run  
elections. Nearly a third of eligible voters aren’t registered to vote  
and our turnout rates are among the lowest in the world. That’s why  
groups like ACORN have to pour resources into voter registration  
drives every four years instead of focusing on other means to empower  
people in their communities.

The problem is our “opt-in,” self-initiated voter registration system.  
Right now the onus is on citizens to update their information, ensure  
correct spelling and cancel old registrations when they move. Without  
a parent who votes or a motivated high school teacher handing out  
voter registration forms, many young people never register or learn  
the basics of participation — as if preparation for citizenship  
weren’t an obvious goal of an effective public school system.

Low voter registration contributes directly to low voter turnout. Once  
registered, people are much more likely to vote in big elections. In  
2004, the U.S. Census reported participation rates of more than 85  
percent of registered voters. Four in five registered voters in the 18  
to 24-year-old cohort showed up. But even 100 percent turnout of  
registered voters would leave us with lower turnout than most other  
well-established democracies.

At the same time, many people are on the rolls more than once and our  
rolls are cluttered with people who have died or moved. Alaska  
notoriously has more registered voters than eligible adults.

Implementing a few common sense reforms would go a long way in solving  
our voter registration problems and lessen the necessity of groups  
seeking to register so many new voters every four years.

One example is seeking to register every citizen before they reach  
voting age by following the lead of Hawaii and Florida in allowing 16- 
year-olds to register to vote, with their names automatically added to  
the voter rolls when they reach 18. This change would ideally be  
twinned with systematic registration of young people in high schools  
and at driver’s license agencies and “voter’s ed” classes on the  
mechanics of participation in communities. Other sensible proposals  
include Election Day registration and moving to making voter  
registration permanent through automatic updates of registration with  
changes of address.

More broadly, it’s time for the government to take on the  
responsibility of establishing full and accurate voter rolls. This  
goal is not rocket science — it’s the international norm and the very  
best way to prevent voter registration fraud and our low rates of  
voter registration.

Our ultimate goal should be a democracy where our policies anticipate  
participation. All eligible voters, regardless of their parents’  
voting behavior or where they grow up, should be registered to vote.  
All students should leave school grounded in an understanding of and  
an appreciation for our democracy and their role in it. It’s time to  
respect — and protect — every vote.
Rob Richie is the executive director of FairVote, a nonpartisan,  
nonprofit election reform and voting rights organization in Takoma  
Park, MD. Adam Fogel directs FairVote's Right to Vote Initiative.
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2008/10/30-4