In Our View: Remove Voter Roadblocks

Because seemingly no topic is beyond the pull of partisan politics, Kim Wyman often finds herself being stretched in opposite directions. “If I’m in a Republican-leaning room, I’m hit over the head with, ‘How are we providing registering without checking citizenship?’ ” Washington’s Secretary of State said of the process for voter registration. And in a room full of Democrats? Then the suggestion is that the state should make it easier for residents to register and to vote.

“Both sides pour a lot of gasoline on the issue,” said Wyman, a Republican whose duties include being the state’s top election official. And the conflagration is growing in many states. What is one side’s concern about voter fraud is seen by the other side as an effort to suppress the vote. As Wyman told The Atlantic: “I have met many Democrats that are convinced that Republicans are trying to keep their party from voting, and I’ve met many Republicans that are convinced that Democrats are cheating. And it’s really hard to convince either side otherwise.”

Because of that, any bill to address voter registration quickly becomes a political football. But that didn’t stop Wyman from pushing a couple ideas in this year’s legislative session — including House Bill 2682, which passed the House of Representatives by a 55-42 vote (Clark County Democrats supported it, while local Republicans voted against), but has gained no traction in the Senate.

The bill would automatically register people to vote if they have, or apply for, an enhanced driver’s license or a commercial driver’s license. Those who receive social services that verify citizenship or receive health insurance through the state health exchange also would be automatically registered. Unlike a standard Washington driver’s license, those items require strict identification, which is the common sticking point regarding the national debate over voter registration.

The proposal would take effect Jan. 1, meaning that it would not play a role in the November election, but other measures across the country could impact this year’s balloting. Oregon started a “motor voter” provision at the beginning of this year, and the result has been a sharp increase in the number of registered voters; officials there say that 4,300 people were added to the voter rolls in the first six days of 2016, while the state typically adds 2,000 per month.

For many pundits, that represents an invitation for voter fraud, and that concern should not be dismissed. In 2007, for example, five members of the now-defunct activist group ACORN were sentenced to jail for fraudulently registering Washington voters. “There have been a few cases of voter fraud,” Wyman said, mentioning the ACORN case. “What I’ve seen in my experience is that it’s not rampant. What I’ve seen is the occasional family members — ‘Edna has voted Republican all her life, and she really wanted to vote for Bush but she died a few months before the election.’ ”

Certainly, protections against phony registrations are essential for ensuring public confidence in the election system. But opposition to increasing voter rolls is difficult to justify. As Paul Gronke, a political science professor at Reed College in Portland, told The Washington Post: “Voter registration was put in place in the U.S. in the 1870s and 1880s — and the historical record is very clear — first to hold out Catholics, southern European immigrants and to push African Americans off the rolls.”

That runs counter to the notion of democracy. For any resident who can prove citizenship, registering to vote should be cleared of any roadblocks.