Bill seeks end to Election Day registration

AUGUSTA – A state lawmaker’s proposal to scrap Maine’s 32-year-old law that allows voters to register on Election Day could be a hard sell in a state where voter turnout is traditionally high, election officials said.

Sen. Jonathan Courtney, R-Sanford, said he submitted the bill because it would strengthen the integrity of the election process if the state set a voter-registration deadline about two days before each election.

That would give officials a complete list of registered voters going into an election and avoid the confusion that can occur at the polls, he said.

“It’s a privilege to vote,” Courtney said. Maine residents who want to exercise that privilege should be responsible for their registration, he said.

Courtney offered no evidence of fraud under the existing system, but he said setting a deadline would simplify the election process.

In 1973 Maine became the second state to allow same-day voter registration. Six states now allow last-minute voter registrations. The remaining states have registration deadlines ranging from 20 to 30 days before Election Day.

Even with Maine in the minority among states, lawmakers say Courtney faces a tough fight.

“I don’t think the point of elections is to make life easy for clerks and wardens,” said Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap, who opposes Courtney’s bill. “The point is to allow people to vote.”

Election advocates also condemned Courtney’s proposal, saying he is trying to fix a problem that does not exist.

Same-day registration is “an enormous success story” in Maine that the rest of the country should adopt, said Michael Sylvester of Common Cause in Maine, a watchdog group that promotes public involvement in politics.