Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

Floor Speech

STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS -- (Senate - May 01, 2008)

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I come to the floor today to speak about a fundamental right in this country: the right to vote. Although it is one of the greatest rights we have built this government on, we have states across the country that still limit that right by not allowing people to vote if they have not met an arbitrary registration deadline. A deadline that is sometimes set months in advance of Election Day. Since 1973, Minnesota has allowed citizens in the state to register to vote on the same day as the election, and, not coincidentally, year after year, my state has the highest voter turnout in the country.

As the Presidential election is fast approaching, we need to ensure that people across the country have the ability to vote when November 4th, 2008, rolls around. This is why, Mr. President, I am happy that this afternoon, Senator Feingold and I introduced legislation that enables voters in every state to register on Election Day for Federal elections. My colleague's home state of Wisconsin, like Minnesota, has put a high price on voter registration, and has allowed Election Day Registration for over 30 years with great success. I am also pleased that we are joined on this bill by Senator Harkin from Iowa and Senator Tester from Montana. Both Iowa and Montana recently enacted same-day voter registration laws--significantly improving voter turnout throughout the state.

This legislation comes at a critical time--it is on the heels of a Supreme Court decision that tightens the ability of Indiana citizens to vote by requiring valid photo identification at the polling booth. And just this last week, several election registration volunteers in Florida stopped their registration work for fear that they would be fined upwards of $1000 if they made a mistake.

In Minnesota, some credit the election of Jesse Ventura as Governor in 1998 to our same-day registration voting policy. Voters who had never voted before showed up at the polls and voted in unprecedented numbers. I can't say that I ever imagined that we would have a Governor wear a pink boa at his inaugural celebration, but the ability for the citizens of Minnesota to cast their ballot and enact change is the kind of democracy this country is founded upon.

In the past decade, as states around the country are experimenting with new and innovative ways to combat voter fraud, Election Day Registration has actually helped eliminate voter fraud at the polls. I've worked a great deal with the Secretary of State in Minnesota, Mark Ritchie, and he has found that registering at the polls, instead of by mail with a postcard, decreases the chance for fraud. When citizens are registering right in front of the election official, on the day of the election, chances of fraud are decreased. It's a pretty simple concept, but a fundamental one. As Secretary of State Ritchie has said, it's ``a no-brainer.''

The myriad of voter registration laws across the country are mind-boggling. In Nevada, you must register by 9 p.m., on the fifth Saturday before the election. A handful of states require registration 25 days before the election, another handful require 29 days. Some have to be postmarked by that date, and others have to be received by the deadline. A few set the cutoff at 20 days, a few at 10 days, and in Vermont, you have until 5 p.m., the Wednesday before the election. If you're in Utah, you must register 30 days before the election by mail, but if you miss that, you can register in person on the 18th or 15th day before the election. Where we have one, national, election day of November 4th this year, it is hard to imagine voters, because of the State they reside, could miss their chance to vote.

There are 8 States that allow citizens to register at the polls: Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and now Iowa and Montana have joined the list. Historically, these first six States have seen voter turnout that is 8 to 15 percent higher than the national average. In the 2004 Presidential election, only 64 percent of the eligible population voted; but in Minnesota, 79 percent of the population turned out to vote. As Senator Feingold mentioned, the last time we had turnout that high on a national level was 1896, and we only had 45 states. No matter what side of the aisle, we are seeing an unprecedented interest in the upcoming Presidential election, and we need to give the citizens the ability to register on Election Day.

This is a simple, yet fundamental bill. It amends legislation we passed in 2002, the Help America Vote Act, to allow voters to register and cast their ballot on the same day in a Federal election. Where Americans across the country are facing skyrocketing gas prices, health costs that many cannot afford, and an economy that is approaching recession, we need to ensure that every citizen has the right to wake up on Election Day and decide they will cast their ballot for President.

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