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Though the United States experienced record-breaking voter turnout in this election, the country has historically had lower voter turnout and registration numbers than most other long-standing democracies around the globe. We rarely represent the citizens of our country adequately, and a lack of political engagement and difficulties in registering to vote are major parts of that. All Americans should be automatically registered to vote when they turn 18. 

There are various obstacles that hinder citizens from registering to vote. Each state has its own voter registration process, which can be difficult to navigate. Registering also takes time and effort that people don’t always have. Whether people are working full-time or trying to support their family, too much effort goes into registering, which may feel meaningless to some. We should still encourage people to register to vote, but the system can be changed to help them do so.

A number of states already have means of automatically registering voters, allowing people to register to vote when they have any routine government interaction. A FiveThirtyEight analysis found that people who were registered automatically voted at similar rates to those who were registered by choice in most states and at higher rates in others.

This data clearly shows that automatic voter registration is worth it. There are very few downsides, too, with one being that a government agency still has to verify an individual’s identity to register them. But even getting a few more people out to vote means greater participation in our democracy. This participation helps create a country that’s representative of all its citizens. 

The current automatic voter registration laws in some states are not sufficient in enfranchising voters. By relying on states to determine these election rules, we don’t give them equal protection or access that is guaranteed to them. Every individual, regardless of the state they live in, deserves easy access to voting.

Voting is more than the act of supporting a certain candidate or policy. It is a symbolic act that binds us as Americans and produces the type of democracy we have said we believe in for centuries. Voting carries a legacy of exclusion and deeply rooted racism and sexism that has prevented people from voting. Some formerly incarcerated people remain disenfranchised, too. 

We are actively silencing hundreds of thousands of people by making voter registration such a difficult task. Even for those of us who care about voting, registering can be too difficult or complicated to understand. Most of the people without the time or resources to register are people who are already marginalized and underrepresented in our political environment. There is no reason that we should keep the system overly complicated. 

Implementing automatic voter registration is possible within our existing structure, making it cheap, accessible and beneficial to citizen engagement. All citizens deserve to have their voices heard. In a democracy, it’s the government’s job to help amplify them. 

Megan Cooper is a freshman international relations and magazine news and digital journalism major. Her column appears bi-weekly. She can be reached at mpcooper@syr.edu. She can be followed on Twitter at @meganpcooper.

Published on November 18, 2020 at 10:01 pm