The Vermont Senate approved a key voting rights reform on Wednesday, a move that could pave the way for increased participation rates in the Green Mountain State.
The Senate passed S.29, which would allow Vermont voters to register to vote at the polls on Election Day. Currently, Vermonters must be registered a week beforehand. If someone hasn’t registered by 5pm on the Wednesday before Election Day, she is not permitted to vote that year.
Research has consistently shown that Election Day Registration gives a major boost to voter turnout numbers, with studies estimating the benefit at anywhere from seven to fourteen percentage points. In the 2014 election, for example, seven of the nine states with the highest turnout rates offered Election Day Registration. (The only two that didn’t, Alaska and Oregon, had marijuana legalization initiatives on the ballot.) It has been enacted in a dozen states — California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, and Wyoming — as well was Washington DC.
Given Vermont’s unimpressive voter turnout numbers, it’s not hard to see why lawmakers decided to act. It ranked in the bottom half in 2014, despite an extremely tight gubernatorial election.
One lawmaker, Sen. Dustin Degree (R), tried to amend S.29 to require those registering on Election Day to show photo identification. However, fellow GOPer Sen. Diane Snelling (R) explained why she opposed the idea: “It’s hard not to think about southern states that are trying to prevent people from voting. I’m not saying this is that but it does remind me of it.” The amendment was easily rejected by the Senate.
S.29 was ultimately approved by a voice vote, indicating that most senators supported the measure. Secretary of State Jim Condos hailed the bill’s passage. “I am extremely grateful to the Senate for taking up and passing Election Day voter registration with overwhelming support,” Condos said, according to the Vermont Press Bureau.
The bill will now move to the House, where Democrats enjoy a nearly 2-to-1 advantage over Republicans.