Are you registered to vote?
If the answer is no, you’re far from alone. Despite voting being a fundamental democratic right in the USA, the American voter turnout in presidential elections has not exceeded 57% since 1972 — and the numbers are even lower when it comes to local elections. Though we often claim to be a country that values our representative government, our turnout suggests otherwise, trailing behind many other developed countries. While this is partially due to a lack of interest in the political system, another factor for this low turnout is that many Americans, possibly including you, are simply not registered to vote.
This is an issue. Though you may argue that you’re “not political” that doesn’t mean that politics don’t impact you. Everything, from the food you eat, to the roads you drive on, to the house you live in is political. All of their regulations and planning were either established or overseen by government officials, and you have the right to vote for ones that are going to advocate for your values. Our government should be representative of us, and prioritize the changes that we want to see.
Like many issues in America, our voting registration numbers are indicative of a wider systemic problem that goes beyond just a lack of interest. Across the board, Black, Asian, and Hispanic voters have lower turnout rates than White voters. Despite making up 39.9% of the United States population, people of color only accounted for 26.7% of votes in the 2016 election. While we may strive for a truly representative government in this country, that’s impossible if many aren’t having their votes counted thus not having their voices heard.
Research shows that “more parity in voter turnout is achieved once [voters are] registered” suggesting that widespread voter registration efforts could be a key factor in increasing American voter turnout. Unlike many countries, the United States places the responsibility to register on the citizen, not the government. For those of you who have never registered to vote, I can tell you that it’s not easy. Despite living in a state that allowed me to register online, I struggled with outdated software and unclear instructions, ultimately resorting to printing out the forms and mailing them in to my county registrar office.
I was able to do this because I had access to a laptop, understood how to navigate the website to find the forms, understood the English used on the website, knew how to print and mail the forms, and had the time and energy to spend an hour figuring out this complex process. There’s many who couldn’t say the same. No one should be unable to vote because they lack the time, skills, or materials to register.
There is an easy way to begin to address these issues, however, and that would be through the use of Automatic Voter Registration. The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 mandates that applications for driver’s licenses must also be able to serve as a voter registration application, provided that the citizen requests it. Automatic Voter Registration, or AVR, would simply use the framework already in place to ensure registration at the age of 18 for anyone seeking to get a license and an automatic update for anyone making any changes to their license. This would streamline the process, create a more efficient way to register voters, and lead to more registrations overall.
States that have already implemented this process have seen the positive results, reporting higher voter turnouts in both local and national elections regardless of race. Additionally, AVR is cheaper to run, costing less per registration than the traditional process. While this would not eliminate our current system altogether, it would ensure that millions of Americans, especially younger ones become registered voters early on, hopefully leading to a lifetime of civic engagement. This is far from a solution for all the issues Americans face when registering to vote, but it’s a start. With millions of licensed, vehicle-driving Americans, the introduction of a cost-effective and simple system is the easiest way to start making changes, working to ensure that we have the opportunity to elect officials that represent us.
It’s time we implement this system and work to make voting accessible to all. The future of our democracy could depend on it.
