April 30, 2012

HOUSE APPROVES ELECTION DAY VOTER REGISTRATION

State Rep. Henry Genga hailed House passage of a legislative package of voter reforms he co-sponsored that includes Election Day voter registration.

Genga said the legislation, House Bill 5024: An Act Concerning Voting Rights, would allow Election Day voter registration and create an online voter registration system.

“Just about each year with every election voter turnout in Connecticut has been falling,” Genga said. “We need to encourage more voting because each voter, each vote counts. We must make it a priority to modernize our elections system so that everyone eligible can participate in the democratic process.”

The bill would allow eligible Connecticut residents to register to vote and cast a ballot on Election Day. It would establish Election Day registration (EDR) procedures and eliminate the use of presidential ballots since they will be redundant under the bill's EDR provisions.

The bill would also require the secretary of the state to establish and maintain an online system for voter registration. Starting in January 2014, Connecticut residents would be able to go online and use their driver’s license number to log into the website. They would enter the same information that is currently part of the paper-registration. That information would be verified and sent electronically to the registrar of voters in their town and the registrar would be able to accept or reject the registration.

Election Day Registration would begin in 2013, a municipal election, allowing election officials to have three election cycles before administering EDR in a Presidential election.

The legislation now goes to the state Senate for consideration.