NEWS RELEASE
NEW EAC DATA UNDERSCORES NEED FOR ELECTION DAY REGISTRATION
AS VOTER REGISTRATION DEADLINE NEARS, NYPIRG REGISTERS VOTERS AND URGES LEGISLATURE TO BRING ELECTION DAY REGISTRATION TO STATE
The New York Public Interest Research Group released new data today from the U.S. Elections Assistance Commission that underscores the need for Election Day Registration in New York State. The data show higher turnout rates and lower use of provisional ballots in states with EDR as compared with those in New York.
“Too many voters are being disenfranchised by New York’s poor turnout and high rate of invalidated provisional ballots," said Miriam Kramer, NYPIRG's government policy analyst. “Election Day voter registration is one of the easiest steps our state legislature could take to expand voter participation around the state."
“Today we are registering voters and urging our elected representatives to vote for a much-needed reform to the state’s election system," added Kramer.
The EAC report finds that in the November 2004 election:
- New York ranked 27th out of 50 states in percentage of the citizen voting age population that voted in the November 2004 election.
- New York’s turnout rate—at 61.2 percent of the Citizen Voting Age Population—was lower than the national average and that in all the Election Day Registration states, most of which had the highest turnouts in the nation.
- More than half—60 percent—of provisional ballots cast in the state were invalidated and New Yorkers cast the second highest amount of provisional ballots in the nation. EDR states minimally, if at all, cast provisional ballots.
The full report can be downloaded from http://www.eac.gov/election_survey_2004/intro.htm.
NYPIRG discussed the report data as the state voter registration deadline approached at the end of today. They registered last-minute voters on campuses across the state and urged the Senate and Assembly to allow New Yorkers to register and vote on Election Day. Two bills introduced in the State Assembly this session would bring Election Day Registration to New York and mandate how it would work.
Six other states—Idaho, Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, and Wyoming—allow individuals who are not registered or need to update their registration to register and vote on Election Day. A seventh state, Montana, enacted EDR this year for elections beginning in 2006. Rhode Island allows EDR for presidential races.
Attachments:
Turnout and Provisional Ballot Charts for State and NY Counties
Election Day Registration Fact Sheet
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