Vote deadline is fair
Progressives have failed in their repeated attempts to convince Beacon Hill to enact election-day voter registration in Massachusetts, so instead they have sought refuge in the courts. It’s a lame way to secure a policy change that advocates haven’t managed to achieve legislatively.
In Suffolk Superior Court this week lawyers for state and municipal election officials are being forced to defend the very notion of a deadline for voter registration. The ACLU, representing three voters who registered after the deadline last year, argue the state’s current, 20-day cutoff before an election is arbitrary and unlawfully restrictive.
Their argument would seem to suggest that requiring even a single day’s advance registration would deprive voters of their constitutional right to cast a ballot. Ergo, election-day registration is the only solution.
Of course there is a middle ground — perhaps a later deadline? — but the plaintiffs aren’t particularly interested in working with election officials to find it. Not when their goal is to allow voters to show up, register and cast a ballot on the same day.
In a radio appearance yesterday Gov. Charlie Baker said he’d be a “really hard sell” on election day registration, citing the “administrative complexities” it places on local officials.
“If people want to vote, it’s not that hard. You go down to your town hall. You can do it when you get your driver’s license,” Baker said. “We’ve made it pretty easy in Massachusetts (to register).”
And there are a handful of bills currently pending at the State House that would achieve similar goals as the lawsuit. One would allow for election day registration. Another would register eligible adults to vote automatically if they interact with certain government agencies (libraries, welfare offices, etc.). A third would automatically register Massachusetts college students to vote.
We disagree with all of them. Claims that Massachusetts voter registration laws are unconstitutionally restrictive are overwrought. But at least those policy changes are being vetted in the proper forum.