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The Iowa bill would require someone wishing to register to vote at the polls to show a picture ID with a current address, plus proof of residency such as a tax bill, bank statement or paycheck.
Seven other states currently allow election day registration, including Minnesota and Wisconsin, which have had it since the 1970s, and Montana, which passed it last year.
Election day registration increases participation. Turnout in the 2006 midterm elections in the seven states that allow it averaged 48.7 percent. Turnout in all other states averaged 38.2 percent. Over two decades, turnout numbers have been 8 to 12 percentage points higher in states that allow it.
Further, election day registration virtually solves the problem of provisional ballots. Currently, someone who shows up at the wrong polling place or whose voting status is in question files a provisional ballot, which allows them to vote but the vote is held out from the official tally until the county auditor's office spends the time to investigate.
With election day registration - which, again, includes proper identification - the voter is simply registered then and there, and the vote is tallied. Verification happens at the polls. No further staff time is required for follow-up.
Against election day registration, opponents argue it could lead to voter fraud. Fraud has been increasingly on people's minds since the Florida recount in 2000. Elections there and across the country have been called into question.
But the record of states that allow election day registration is that it does not increase fraud. Maine, which has allowed it since 1973, has not had a single case of voter fraud due to election day registration. Minnesota's Attorney General reminds people that it's a felony to vote twice, and if you do, they'll catch you, because they compare the lists.
In Iowa, there currently is a 10-day waiting period from the time when you can register to the time when you can vote. But no county auditor spends that 10 days investigating who you are. Fraud is not prevented by the waiting period. Nor is it encouraged by its elimination.
To be fair to Republicans who oppose this bill in Iowa, the constituencies likely to be helped immediately might be expected to vote Democratic. Young voters and people new to the state are likely to be helped by this bill.
But partisan fears are mitigated by votes over the long haul. Minnesota and Wisconsin, for example, have both elected Republican governors and legislative majorities. Among the current seven states that allow election day registration are the red states of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.
The fact is that election day registration encourages voting among all people. New voters might just as easily include legal immigrants from Eastern Europe, who may be more likely to vote Republican.
In Ames, students are among those who this bill would help. Sandra McJimsey, a member of the League of Women Voters and a poll worker in Ward 3-3, says she's frequently seen students become excited about a particular election but then turned away at the polls because they were unaware of or missed the registration deadline. Those last 10 days of a campaign are often when voter attention is finally engaged.
These students don't then go home to where they are registered to vote. They just don't vote. That should not be the goal.
Election day registration increases participation, streamlines administration and poses no increase in the threat of fraud. Legislators, regardless of their party, ought to consider this favorably.
